


Nexomon: Extinction, but the MC knows their identity the entire time

by windows_xp



Category: Nexomon, Nexomon: Extinction (Video Game)
Genre: Breaking the Fourth Wall, Gen, Rating is for swearing and mild themes, You are a horrible person, was Coco the real hero all along
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26954656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windows_xp/pseuds/windows_xp
Summary: On the day you join the Tamer's Guild, you figure out you are a dangerous Tyrant - and send Deena's plan flying off its course. How will you keep your identity from being discovered? And more importantly, how will you survive?MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. Shoutout to the Nexomon discord!
Comments: 13
Kudos: 13





	1. An Unfounded Realization

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the input from the Nexomon discord [https://discord.gg/wHdFs7k5n5] ;) I have replaced all previous instances of my headcanon name for the protagonist with Y/N. Hopefully this clears up the fact that the MC is supposed to be YOU and not someone else. Thanks for reading.
> 
> Dec/10/2020: I might re-write these first two chapters because they suck and are cringe

**15 years ago**

  
The orphanage had changed. Roof shingles were flaking off like lizard scales, and gashes and slashes from Tyrant attacks lined the walls.

Deena glared at it from under her hood, for a moment debating between this dump and the Khan Woods.

“Deena.”

A hushed voice came from the entrance. That could only be one person. She was unseen from all other living beings, and this guy wasn’t living.

“Long time no see, Ulrich.”

“Ah, my favorite traitor,” Ulrich said, shaking her hand. Deena smiled a bit, though she knew her and her siblings’ relationships were strained, to say the least.

Ulrich looked around, wary. “Did you bring it?” he whispered.

Deena rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a drug deal. No one can hear you.” She gently gave him the swaddle of blankets in her arms.

“What in Omnicron’s name-“ Ulrich flinched.

“Something wrong?” Deena raised her eyebrows.

“This is a human child!”

“Well, we are at a human orphanage.”

“I thought we were meeting here as a joke! It would be ironic!”

“What the - Ulrich! I was being serious!” Deena rubbed her temples.

“I mean -“ he held the baby up - “how did you even get it like this??”

“I can MANIPULATE LIVING BEINGS, DUMBASS. How long have I known you? Like, 3000 year-“

“Fine. I get it. This infant - this human infant - you want Omnicron’s true heir to live among humans?”

“Yes.”

“That’s-“

“I told you the plan,” said Deena, only mildly annoyed. “Unless you’d like me to go through it again?”

“I definitely know it.” Ulrich stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“Ok, well, let’s run through it together.”

“You have the future Ruler of Monsters, right here-“

“Right.”

“And you’re going to raise them to live among humans.”

“Right.”

“So they know all of humanity’s weaknesses.”

“NO!”

“Then, when the time is right, they can take down the Guild and ascend to the throne!” He smiled.

“NO, NO, NO! Wait, actually, yes.” Deena scratched her head. “The Guild has been working on something dangerous for years. I fear that-"

“Blue hair?” said Ulrich, peeking at the infant.

“What?”

“It has blue hair.” He held the baby up for Deena to see, like she didn’t already know.

Deena smiled. “You gotta have blue hair.”

“Hmmm.” Ulrich stroked his beard. “Okay. So I will watch over this heir, and let them believe that they are human, until the time has come for them to ascend to the throne.”

“Yes,” said Deena.

“But what will become of them when they develop supernatural powers?”

“Don’t know. Just make up some bullshit or something.” Deena said, staring at the cocoon of blankets. “Oh, that reminds me.” She took out a large rock-like thing, colors and symbols swirling around it.

“A TYRANT EGG?”

Deena facepalmed. “It’s fake. Look at it. I made it out of paper mâché.”

He sniffed the fake egg. “It smells like a Hobby Lobby.”

“Exactly. Now, you give that to baby Y/N here-“

“Y/N? That's a stupid name,” said Ulrich.

“Listen, okay? You tell them that’s a real-life Tyrant egg. Tell them their powers come from it. Send them to the rest of the family - I know they’re off sulking in shrines or whatever. They’ll help them use their powers.”

“Oh. I think I knew that part.”

“Good.” Deena slapped the fake egg and handed it to Ulrich, his hands full.

“I’m relying on you. And fix up the orphanage, please.”

Deena began to trail off, disappearing in the pockets of time. Ulrich wobbled, struggling to keep everything in his arms.

“Oh, and Ulrich?” Deena turned to face him.

“Yes…?”

“It’s imperative that Y/N believes they're human. They will never find out their true nature until the time is right.”

“Ok,” Ulrich promised.  
  


**_WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!”_ **

“I’M AWAKE!” You shouted back.

“Just checking,” Ross smirked.

“YOU WEREN’T ‘JUST CHECKING,’ ASSHOLE!” You levitated your pillow at him. Ross’ smile disappeared in a THUMP.

The pillow slowly slid off his face. “You’re late.”

You checked your watch. “Oh, deyam.”

“You want your first Nexomon, right? We’re all waiting on you,” Ross said, and turned outside.

You bookmarked _Tyrants in Contemporary History_ and set it down. You put on your cape, gloves and stupid little goggles that you loved so much. The goggles held your hair up.

Outside the orphanage, you spy on the group. Ross was tapping his foot, and Coco was fidgeting with his hat. Your mentor made eye contact with you, and you begrudgingly shuffled over to him.

“Ughh, Y/N's always late,” Ross complained.

“Shut up, Ross. Amelie is here,” Nora whispered.

“Great,” Amelie said. “Now that I know you all are alive, we’ll get started. I’m Amelie, the leader of the Tamer’s Guild. Today, you all can get qualified to be Guild Tamers and fight the horrific beings that plague our land, possibly to the death.”

“Hooray,” said Coco.

“In order to be a Tamer, you have to own a Nexomon. That’s literally it.”

“Here,” said the mentor, handing each of them a Nexotrap. “We want you to go and catch Nexomon in the woods out back.”

“WHAT?” screamed Ross. “The woods only have weak-ass Nexomon! I’m a pro Tamer! Can’t we go to the Drake Isles?”

“Now, now,” said Amelie, rubbing her forehead. “Pro Tamers are willing to go catch their stupid little bugs. Go on, now.”

“Who in Ulzar’s name would trust Ross with a Nexomon?” Coco whispered. You snickered.

Ross huffed, but still twisted the Nexotrap in his hand. They went into the woods together. At the crossroads, Nora accidentally stumbled, bumping into Ross.

“WATCH IT!” he scowled at her. “Are you trying to copy me? You know what, I’m going this way. DON’T follow me.”

Nora facepalmed. “Good riddance. Okay, I’ll go this way then.” She headed off into the other direction.

Coco looked tired. “Well, that was quick. I guess I’ll team up with you.”

You smiled. No matter what, Coco always had your back.

Coco smirked. “Still can’t believe Ross and Nora—“

The world suddenly froze. You felt your blood run cold.

Coco was paused in time.

“Uhhhhhh… Coco?“

A green-haired woman walked out of the woods, and jumped in shock.

“Impossible!”

You broke out into a cold sweat.

“Y/N!? What are _you_ doing here? Actually, nevermind - Something dangerous is coming.”

“I…I… Do I know you?”

The green-haired woman hid under her hood. “That’s not important right now! Listen, to the north, there’s a fake statue, ok? Underneath is a secret chamber where you can hide!”

“Okay,” your heard your voice shake.

“Hurry up! My time — our time — is running ou-“

In a flash she was gone.

“Y/N?”

You were vaguely aware that you were shivering.

“Y/N? Why are you shaking?”

Your voice wobbled. “You didn’t see her?”

“What? No - wait, is it your psychic powers again?”

When you were thirteen, you found out that you could move objects with your mind. It happened when you accidentally spilled a glass of water over Coco - he was furious until the individual droplets started lifiting up, out of his fur.

Being a psychic isn’t exactly unheard of - but you fear that if your mentor found out, he would send you to the Immortal Citadel to become a witch. As long as you could remember, he’s told you: “If anything out of the ordinary ever happens to you, tell me.” And of course that _definitely_ meant you would never tell him anything.

To this day, only Ross, Coco, and Nora know about them. You occasionally got small headaches and visions, but nothing too major.

“No, no, no, this is _different_ ,” you said, feeling your blood curdle. “Let’s go north. Now.”

You sprinted to the north, where there was a statue of a noble warrior, draped in vines. _That must be the escape route._

“Hey, look,” Coco gleamed. “Is that a shooting star?”

The white light in the sky slammed into the ground. A dragon raked its claws into the dirt and roared. 

“That’s definitely not a shooting star!” shouted Coco.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHH!” you screamed in unison. Really, what else is there to say in this situation?

Suddenly, the dragon became suspended in time. When you opened your eyes, the mysterious woman was standing in front of you, holding a box of Nexotraps.

“Why are you so damn slow, Y/N?”

“I-“

“You might as well learn how to fight now. Go on, take one!”

“How-how do I know which is which?” you squinted.

The woman sighed. “Just take one.”

You nodded and grabbed a random Nexotrap.

“You can do it, Y/N. I believe in you.”

 _Just who_ is _this woman?_

Time unfroze, and the dragon continued burning the ground.

“Y/N?! Where’d you get that Nexotrap?” Coco said.

You said nothing, and charged towards the dragon.

“ARE YOU SUICIDAL, MATE?”

You threw out your Nexomon. _Please be something good please be something good please be something good —_

A tiny little Lume came out of the Nexotrap, mewling.

“NOOO! THIS IS A BABY KITTEN IT’S GOING TO GET MURD —“

The dragon roared and threw out its claws, sending you and Lume flying.

-

Darkness.

“Um, hello?”

Darkness.

“THE DRAGON GOT YOUR LEGS!!”

You snapped awake, instantly feeling for your legs. When you realized they were still there, you lied down and breathed.

“Where the hell are we?”

Coco squinted. “Uhh, I dunno. Creepy cave.”

You suddenly sat up again. “What happened to my little fire cat?!”

“Oh, Lume’s alright, if that’s what you were wondering.” Your eyes focused enough to see the scared kitten clinging to Coco’s hat.

“Hey. Pssst.” said a voice.

Coco turned around and screamed. “THAT’S A DAMN GHOST!”

The ghost crossed their arms. “Wow. Thanks.”

“Sorry about that,” Coco said. “You uh, spooked me.” You elbowed him.

The ghost was blue-haired and scarred, leaning over their tombstone. They sighed. “I saved your ungrateful asses from that dragon. The least you could do is show me some respect. I saved the world multiple times, you know that? From that big blue bitch.”

You thought really hard back to the history books. “Omnicron?”

“Yeah, whatever his name was. I kicked his ass MULTIPLE TIMES, more than that pessimist Ulzar, and still no one remembers my name.”

Coco shrugged. “C’est la vie.”

“Anyway, now I lie here. Forever. In woe of my simpage.”

You picked at your fingernails, clearly bored.

“Also, the dragon is gone now. So.”

You stumbled. “WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST TELL US THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?” You started running for the exit.

“NO, NO, NO, WAIT! COME BACK AND HEAR MY ENTIRE LIFE STORY!” The ghost groaned, defeated. Coco accidentally made eye contact with them. “You’ll stay and listen, won’t you?”

Coco put his paws up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Actually, I have things to do - you know-“ and he started running too.

The ghost facepalmed. “I hate you, Deena,” they muttered to themself.

Outside the cave, you eyed the giant, burning crater where the dragon once was. Amelie ran up to you and Coco. “Holy shit, are you okay?”

“About as okay as two young children who have survived a dragon attack, thank you for asking,” Coco said.

“Good gracious. Let’s get back to the orphanage.”

Upstairs, they all surrounded the table. Amelie put her hand over her face. “It’s safe to say this year’s hunting ceremony is cancelled.”

“We have more pressing matters on our hands,” the mentor scowled. “A dragon. Are you sure, Amelie?”

“HEY! HEY! HELLO??” You waved your arms in the air. “IT LITERALLY TRIED TO EAT COCO AND ME JUST NOW.”

“WHAT?” growled the mentor. “What is the meaning of this, Amelie?”

Amelie sighed. “Dragons never attack humans. The only explanation must be—“

“A Tyrant is on the lose.” The green-haired woman finished, walking into the room.

“Oh my Ulzar! Grandmaster Deena!! I’m your biggest fan!!” Nora said, excited.

Your eyes widened. _You know this woman???_

Deena walked up and slammed her hands down on the table.

“There is a goddamn _Tyrant_ nearby, and I won’t rest until it’s dead,” Deena snarled.

“A Tyrant. Yes. That must be it…” said Amelie, exhausted. “Dammit. It’s near an orphanage, too. This is like heading into a Wal-Mart at 4am.”

“A TYRANT??” cried Ross. “WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??”

“ARE WE GOING TO DIE??” you sobbed.

“Grandmaster Deena, SAAAAVE US,” Nora weeped.

“Ok, ok, jeez,” Deena said, uncomfortable. “I will.”

“I’ll take the kids to Parum,” Amelie said. “Give me updates about this Tyrant, okay?”

Deena nodded, and started walking out the door.

But there were motors moving in your head. If dragons only attack humans, and the dragon attacked you, just why did that happen?

You opened your mouth to speak, but time froze again. Deena turned around and glared at you.

“Shut your mouth, Y/N.”

Time unfroze, and you started to shake.

The dragons don’t attack humans.

The dragons attacked you.

You must not be human.

“Y/N, why are you shaking?”

You knew the answer.

You must be the Tyrant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might rewrite these first two chapters soon :P


	2. Ross causes problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where Ulrich gets threatened with a fork, as promised. Also, Ross gets bullied. :(

_What the hell am I thinking?_

“Y/N?”

You stared into the mirror.

It just couldn’t be right. You just nearly got _killed by a dragon_ \- of course you weren't thinking rationally.

Nora snapped in your face. “Hello?”

“Yeah?” you said, still staring into the mirror.

“Are you okay?” Nora asked, puzzled.

You simply kept staring into the mirror. Of course you were being ridiculous. Just ridiculous. If anything, the dragon attack was evidence that _Coco_ was a Tyrant. A Tyrant is no different than any other Nexomon. You were _human_. Obviously _._

Well, you did have those psychic abilities. And the other orphans did always make fun of you for having powers closer to a Nexomon’s than a normal witch’s…

_Let’s not think about that._

“Are you gonna pack?” Nora said. She already halfway done putting away her suitcase, mostly stuffing it with books. “Also, have you seen _Tyrants in Contemporary History_?”

“Oh right, I borrowed that one. Sorry.” You passed the book over from your nightstand. Nora’s massive collection of books mostly came from trading with the other orphans, and you ocassionally read a few. _Nora probably knows a lot more about history, though…_

“Hey, you know what?” said Nora.

“What?”

“Your hairstyle. It looks just like Grandmaster Deena’s!”

“It DOES?”

You squinted at your reflection. “I…don’t see a resemblance.” With that, the anxiety of the last few hours came flooding back to you, with Deena’s warnings and the dragon’s flames clear in your mind. _Dragons only attack Tyrants._

“Uh… Nora?” You started throwing random things into your suitcase.

“What?”

“Is there any way a Nexomon could disguise itself as a human? Theoretically?”

“There’s a few legends about it, but they’re, well, legends.” Nora tapped her chin. “It’s impossible. I think.”

So this whole thing was ridiculous. “Good to know.”

Someone nearly broke down the door. “HURRY UP! HURRY UP! HURRY UP!”

Nora sighed. “Oh Ulzar.”

Ross opened the door. “There’s a TYRANT about to KILL US and YOU GUYS are here CHATTING.”

You raised an eyebrow. “You were eavesdropping?”

“NO! I can hear you loudmouths from down the hall.” He was definitely eavesdropping. “And the TYRANT probably can, TOO.”

“We’re perfectly fine, Ross!” Nora said. “Amelie is just taking us to Parum early, as a precaution.”

No one spoke.

“…Right?”

Ross crossed his arms. “It’s better us than the other orphans. Anyway, I REALLY don’t want Amelie to blame ME for you guys being late. We already got on her bad side this morning. So HURRY UP!” He slammed the door.

Nora sighed. “Why couldn’t the dragon have gone after him?”

“I’m surprised Mentor hasn’t killed him yet.”

Nora snickered. “I’ll miss this place.”

“Nicest orphanage in the world.” You blew the room a kiss.

“It’s the only orphanage in the world,” Nora said, shutting the door.

Outside, Amelie was was scribbling furiously on her clipboard, with Coco cloudgazing and Ross impatient as always. Amelie pointed her clipboard at you and Nora.

“Hey, you kids! You have bandages, first-aid, Nexotraps, water…?”

“Of course!” Nora waved.

You forced a tiny nod and pretended like you didn’t forget.

Amelie looked up at you. “You obviously don’t.”

“That’s natural selection for you,” Coco said.

“Can we just go?” Ross said. “It’s like, a 15 minute walk to Parum.”

“There’s a Tyrant nearby,” said Amelie. “I will not be putting your lives in danger.”

“You are literally recruiting us into the army,” said Coco.

“That’s it. I’m outta here!” Ross took off in a sprint.

“ROSS! GET BACK HERE! IT’S NOT SAFE!” Amelie screamed, and began to run after him. When it was obvious he was too far away, she walked back to the others, defeated.

You blinked. Did Ross… did Ross really run that fast? _He must truly be scared._

“Okay… children. You do realize that after you get your bronze badges, you won’t be living at the orphanage anymore. You’ll be living in the Guild barracks, and you might even be dispatched to an Outpost. So, make sure you have everything you need.”

You gave her a thumbs up. She sighed. You walked through the woods, the morning sunlight streaming through the treetops.

“Look out,” Amelie said, swerving you away from a gaping hole. “Damn bridge. No one ever pays their taxes. Now look at it.”

You arrived in Parum. Two guards stood by the entrance, sweating in the late summer sun.

“Halt!” They blocked the gate until they saw Amelie.

“Ms. Amelie, sir! Anything to report?”

“Not at the moment,” said Amelie, sighing. You felt the bite of concern.

“By the way,” Amelie said, “Have you seen a little kid running around? Furious red hair, anger issues, goggles, about this-“ she waved around her shoulders - “tall?”

The guards nervously looked at each other.

“Oh. He ran in earlier. If I knew you were looking for him -“

“It’s fine. Just watch more closely next time,” Amelie said in a sharp voice.

“So Ross wasn’t eaten,” Coco whispered to Nora. “What a shame.”

They stepped into Parum, and you suddenly felt very cold. You'd been to the capital city a few times, but this time was… _different_. Beige walls let the sun beat down on the fortified metal houses. Stray posters hung from poles. Arrows and streetlights conducted the streets in an orderly fashion. Guards outnumbered citizens.

“LOOK, IT’S AMELIE!” a woman wearing a blue hat shouted. “AMELIE! DOWN WITH THE TYRANTS! THE GUILD WILL PREVAIL!”

“DOWN WITH THE TYRANTS!” shouted another guy. “DOWN WITH THE TYRANTS!”

Six people started to crowd around her. “AMELIE! What will you do to control the dragons??”

“They’re under control,” Amelie snapped.

“I think we should be more diplomatic with the Tyrants. War is never the answer,” said a grown man.

“They are LITERALLY trying to EAT US,” Amelie said.

“Amelie, is it true the Guild is abandoning the Frozen Tundra?” said someone’s grandma.

“No?” said Amelie.

“How will you fund Parum’s walls if you keep dispatching tamers to Palmaya?”

“EVERYONE LEAVE ME ALONE!” Amelie said. “And let me take these young tamers to get their bronze badges IN PEACE.”

The crowd suddenly hushed. One by one, they broke apart until Amelie was left alone.

The children were all quiet. Amelie had her eyes closed and was redoing the straps on her gloves.

“For Ulzar’s sake.”

Coco and you exchanged a look.

“…You have a hard job, Amelie,” said Nora, quiet.

“I do,” Amelie said. She thought for a moment. “You know what? We’re going to take a detour. Come with me.”

Nora trailed off with her. Coco shrugged at you. “We’ve been waiting fifteen years to get our bronze badges. What’s a little detour?” 

You followed her past a set of pacing guards, a man wearing a cowboy hat, and down the metal stairs that clanged at each footstep.

A slate statue stood at the center, silent onlookers solemnly gathered around it. A man stood in a fighting stance, his cape blowing in the nonexistent wind, next to a huge wolf. You recognized it instantly. 

ULZAR SLAYS OMNICRON, read the golden plaque. Amelie stood in its light.

“Not many people know this, but this is Omnicron’s final resting place.” Your friends looked shocked.

“He was slain three times. Twice, in the Frozen Tundra. And here, at the edge of Parum, when it was just a small farming town. Here, at the hands of a selfless hero, who inspired the Guild as we know it.”

 _I wouldn’t really call them “selfless,”_ you thought to yourself.

Amelie thought for a bit.

“Why would we mark the grave of such a vile beast? Because he was defeated at the hands of humanity. This statue isn’t a tribute. It’s a _warning_.Do you see this, kids? This is what humans are capable of. We defeated the most dangerous monster in the entire world.”

Amelie turned. ”This is why I lead the Guild.”

“That’s amazing!” exclaimed Nora.

Amelie smiled. “Anyway, that’s enough of that! Go and get your bronze badges!”

Coco and you left Nora and walked off together. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“I thought that monologue would never end.”

You squinted. “She’s kind of… passionate, isn’t she?”

You went along a massive flight of stairs, up to the Guild headquarters. Red banners rippled in the wind. Clouds drifted below the stairs. You turned back and admired the view.

“Wow, you can see a lot from up here.”

“THERE YOU ARE!!!”

“Oh no,” said Coco.

Ross ran up to you. “I have been looking EVERYWHERE for you wussies. The stupid Admin won’t give me my bronze badge.”

“What?”

“Yeah!! She said the minimum requirement is that I have a Nexomon.”

“You don’t have a Nexomon???” you said, incredulous.

“Of course not!” Ross screamed. “I didn’t have time to get one because I WAS SAVING MYSELF FROM THE DRAGON.”

“Okay, and? Just go catch yourself a new one,” Coco said.

“What?” Ross was genuinely confused. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.” He waved his arms around. “I need you guys to help convince her to give me a bronze badge.”

“…In what dimension would we help you with this?” Coco glared.

“LOOK! It’s just a small favor. You guys are my _friends_. C’mon.”

You crossed your arms. “FINE. What do you want us to do?”

“Here’s the plan. We go inside, say that I caught a Nexomon, pretend _Coco_ is my Nexomon —“

“OKAY, I’M OUT,” Coco said, climbing up the stairs and heading inside. You shrugged at Ross’ indignant face and went in after Coco.

The Guild headquarters was packed with tamers, all from wildly different backgrounds. One woman unfurled a giant map over the table, a man covered in scars showed his pickaxe to the others, and a witch hovered above the ground. Coco and you followed the red carpet to the regional administrator, who seemed busy on her tablet.

They stood over her. You politely knocked on the desk.

“Yes?”

“We’re here to get our bronze badges,” you said, excited.

The admin sighed. “Great. More kids. This is getting tragic.”

“We’re not kids,” you said. “We’re fifteen.”

The admin winced. “Right… Anyway,” she typed on her tablet, “You need to have Nexomon with you. Just show me your Nexotraps, and you’ll be official Guild tamers.”

You and Coco dug around in your pockets and placed them on her desk. Suddenly, a booming voice sounded through the room.

“Y/N, NOW!!! USE YOUR PSYCHIC POWERS TO MIND CONTROL HER INTO GIVING ME THE BADGE!!”

You felt her heart churn. _WHAT THE HELL???_

 _“_ Ross, why,” you choked out before the admin’s face dissolved into anger.

“Holy shiiit,” the admin said, looking up from her tablet. “Not this kid again. _What_ is going on today.”

“I am _so sorry,_ ” you said, taking your Nexotrap off the desk, “he is a little, uh, unstable.”

“Y/N?? What are you doing? C’mon.” He wavered, his hands in his hair. “I KNEW YOU WOULDN’T GO ALONG WITH MY PLAN.”

“I DON’T HAVE FRICKING _MIND CONTROL POWERS_ , ROSS,” you nearly cried.

“Oh my God. What is going on here?” Nora was standing in the doorway. She was holding her brown bag.

“THE ADMIN WON’T GIVE ME MY BRONZE BADGE!”

“Again, sir, you need a _Nexomon_ to become a _tamer_. It kinda comes with the job description.”

Nora facepalmed. “You don’t have a Nexomon?!”

“I WAS TRYING NOT TO DIE!” Ross said. It looked like he actually regretted causing a scene. Everyone in the room was staring at him.

Nora sighed. “Here. You can have one of mine.” She reached into her bag and handed him a Nexotrap.

Ross blinked. “Th…thanks.”

“Is everyone here?” the admin said. They all nodded.

“Yeah? Okay. Here are your badges. You are all officially bronze tamers.”

You grabbed hers and spun around in circles, levitating the bronze badge into the air.

“Uh… Y/N? What are you doing? People are staring,” Coco said helpfully.

“Can you not do that in the middle of the room?” The admin said. You came back.

“Alright. I’ll be assigning your first jobs to you.” She scrolled through her tablet. “Ah. Here we go. ” She typed a few things down. “Okay. You should probably all unpack in the barracks. Take the door on your left and you’ll see the hallways leading to the rooms. Come back when you’re ready for your first assignment, I guess” She handed you the keys to your rooms. Ross and Nora went off.

“Hey, I didn’t bring anything! So I don’t have anything to unpack!” you said.

“Good for you,” said the admin. She looked at Coco. “You, too?”

Coco shrugged. “I live simply.”

“Alright then. You’ll be assigned to a job together. Your client will be in the meeting room.” She scribbled furiously on her tablet.

In the meeting room, a girl with two braids and the world’s biggest pickaxe stood. Amelie sat next to her.

“Ah, here they are, now.”

The girl peered through her incredibly thick goggles. “Wait. Who are these losers?”

“Videll, these are the losers — I MEAN, tamers — that will be fulfilling your request.”

“Are you kidding me??” said Videll “I just saw them get their badges FIVE MINUTES AGO.”

“She’s got a point,” you said.

“Um, this is off topic, but… is it legal to own a pickaxe that sharp?” said Coco.

“Even if it wasn’t, why would I care?” Videll snickered. Then she saw Amelie frowning at her and stopped.

Amelie looked over at the tamers. “Okay, Y/N and Coco… the lake in the Outlands has frozen over.”

“It’s the middle of summer!”

“Yeah, and that’s why I need you noobs to come investigate with me,” said Videll. “Meet me outside the city. And try not to die.” She rushed out.

Amelie cleared her throat. “You just have to escort her. It’s incredibly easy. I’m sure you can do it.” She smiled at the tamers.

Somehow, you weren't reassured.

Outside Guild headquarters, a rhythmic cheering sound, impossible to make out, started echoing up the stairs. It broke through the normally deserted city.

“Uhmm??” you bit your lip. A guard was stationed next to you. “Excuse me, but what’s going on?”

“Oh, it’s probably just another anti-Tyrant rally. People do that a lot. You understand their frustration in these uncertain times, no?”

_Dragons only attack Tyrants._

You blinked. You could hear what the crowd was saying, now.

“Humanity will prevail!”

“Humanity will rise!”

“The Tyrants will fall!”

You blinked again.

“You want to go around them, Y/N?”

You came back to earth. “Oh! No, it’s fine. We’ll go through them.”

Down the stairs, a march was in the streets. A crowd of around a hundred people were gathered in the center of the city. People carried signs that said WHAT ABOUT MY CHILDREN? And IS PARUM NEXT? There was even one with the head of a Renegade on the body of a Tyrant labelled MONSTERS.

“I wonder what that’s about,” said Coco. “I’ve never seen someone have beef with the Renegades themselves.”

“Some of these signs are pretty creative,” you said, starting to feel a bit nauseous. You headed near the exit.

“What’s wrong, Y/N?”

“I just feel a bit sick. It’s just the loud noise.”

_Dragons only attack Tyrants._

“You’re not sensitive to loud noise. We’ve lived with Ross our whole lives.”

“Yeah, but we also survived _a dragon attack_ just _this morning,_ ” you said, your heart racing as you remembered the whole incident.

“Ah. True.” Coco walked. “Hopefully we can get our first job over quickly. I want to move on to more interesting stuff.”

“HEY! OVER HERE!” Videll was waving them down near a patchy bit of forest. They crunched over leaves to meet her.

She put her hands on her hips and sized you up.

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m _paying_ the Guild to chaperone you kids! Ah, well.” She gestured to the yellow forest. “This is the Outlands. Not exactly the safest place to be, but it’s the best spot for farming Nexomite.”

“To the south is where the lake is going to be. I trust you can make it there on your own, right?”

Coco and you stared blankly.

Videll looked insulted. “Aw, fine. Follow me,”

You walked through the Outlands. A mistly pollen smell filled the air, and you could’ve sworn she heard something _slither_ beneath your feet.

“Theres a Guild outpost, over there,” Videll pointed to the colony of tents. “They’ll give free food and water to anyone who asks. You have to pay for tamer supplies though.”

“There must be some powerful Nexomon around here,” said Coco.

“Well, there are definitely Tyrants. I’d say this place gets ravanged at least once a week.”

“Really?”

“Yep,” Videll smiled.

You nearly tripped.

Videll snorted. “You guys are sloooow. I’m going ahead, see ya at the lake.”

“Wow, she’s quick!” said Coco. Just a few moments later, you could no longer see Videll.

“Well. That’s it. We’re screwed,” you said.

“What? No we’re not?”

“Did you _hear_ what she JUST SAID? Tyrants nuke this place once a week. I’m pretty sure our job was to _escort_ her. We’re screwed. Even if we live, we won’t get paid.”

Coco sighed. “I’m going to go ahead and try to find some cool Nexomon. You need to try and fend for yourself. I’ll meet you at the lake.”

Great. Now you were alone.

“Excuse me, young tamer!”

You turned. An elderly woman was hobbling towards you.

“Excuse me!”

“Hello there,” you said.

“You’re a Guild tamer, aren’t you? I need help! My granddaughter is missing and the tamers at the Outpost are too busy.”

“Oh. Uh, of course. What do you need?”

“My granddaughter… she has long green hair, blue eyes, about this tall. ” She motioned about a toddler’s height. “I last saw her near a cave to the east. Please, please find her.”

_I don’t know about this…_

“I’ll pay you!”

You gleamed. “Of course I’ll find your granddaughter!”

“Oh thank you, thank you,” the old woman started sobbing. “Ulzar bless.”

“It’s nothing, miss.”

You ran off, trampling the autumn leaves and passing huge gashes in the ground.

_Wow, the Tyrants have really destroyed this place._

You spotted a man with a beanie camping out by the side of a cliff. He was twisting a Nexotrap around like it was a paper fortune teller.

“Excuse me!?” you said. The beanie man looked up. “Have you seen this little girl? About this tall —“

“Hey, you’re a tamer, aren’t you? Let’s battle!”

“Wait, what? No, I need infor—“

“We have to battle. It’s the rules.”

“What rules?”

“Battle me, and I’ll tell you about the little girl.”

You sighed. “Ugh. Fine.” You grabbed your Nexotrap from behind your cape and sent out Lume.

Lume mewled helplessly. The beanie man sent out a Spikus.

“Is that a cactus?” You'd never seen anything like it before.

The beanie man looked offended. “It’s a Nexomon!”

“I dunno. It looks like a cactus with eyes.”

“Spikus, blooming spore!”

A puff of spores blossomed over Lume. It began to shrudder and cough.

“What happened?!”

“I think your Lume was poisoned!” The beanie man looked pleased.

“WHAT THE HELL??” _What the hell what the hell what the hell?_

“LUME, KILL IT!”

Lume let out a tiny growl and a puff of flame. Spikus, on fire, collapsed in a cloud of smoke.

“Spikus, noo!” The beanie man brought it back into its Nexotrap. “Okay, I guess you win.” _I think your Nexomon is dead._

“Now tell me about the little girl.”

The beanie man shrugged. “I’ve never seen a little girl around here. Sorry.”

You stared.

“What? You said…”

“I didn’t promise anything.”

“Uhhh, yes you did? You said you’d tell me about _the little girl that supposedly went missing right next to this cave?_ ”

“You should probably check the cave, then.”

“UGH!” You walked into the cave, Lume following behind. It breathed an ember onto his shoe.

“AHH! MY SOCK IS ON FIRE!” the beanie man yelled. But you were already too far away to hear him.

The cave had a thick, moist air. Colored shards gleamed in Nexomite boulders near the entrance, and wild Nexomon rustled in the darkness.

“Umm… Hello?” You talked into the darkness.

A shrieking noise yelled back. You could barely make out a circle of green in the darkness.

A tiny mermaid-like Nexomon, with a pink tail and green hair, was floating a few feet above the ground. _Is this… is this her “granddaughter?”_

“I—“

You sighed. Yep. It was exactly the height that the old woman described, with a head of green hair, and blue eyes.

“This is a Nexomon,” you said, glaring at the Mermella. Lume mewled at it.

“Alright, come with me,” you said, scooping the tiny thing up into your arms.

Back at the Guild Outpost, the old woman was frantically talking to a Guild tamer. The moment she saw you with Mermella, her eyes lit up.

“Oh my goodness!”

“Um… ma’am… this is your granddaughter?”

The old woman grabbed the Mermella straight out of your arms. She started cackling.

“MERMELLA! COSMIC MERMELLA! I’VE BEEN HUNTING YOU FOR 84 YEARS!”

“You’ve never seen this Nexomon before in your life, have you?” you said.

“I never thought I’d be able to,” whispered the old woman, a single tear streaming down her face.

You were indifferent. “You’re still paying me, right?”

“Why, of course, dear.” She gave you some pocket money and jogged away, holding Mermella in the air like the reincarnation of Ulzar.

You looked down at your palm. _Wait, this isn’t pocket money!_ The value was, in fact, over 5,000 coins. _Nice._

You healed up Lume at the camp and made your way down to the lake. On the ground were two masked men, groaning in pain.

“… Are you fellas okay?”

“That girl… that little girl…”

“Let me guess. Blonde, overalls, the world’s deadliest axe?”

The one on the right groaned. “We were trying to mug her.”

You stepped over them. “Serves you right.” _Why did she even need an escort in the first place?_

Up ahead, you began to slide a bit. You grimly realized that it was ice. The entire ground was frozen over. You lived in a world full of oddities, but this was truly bizzare.

“Took ya long enough!” Videll was standing by the entrance of the cave.

“Wow, Y/N. You took so long, it’s almost like you were on a sidequest or something!” said Coco.

Videll touched the ground, scraping her axe against the ice. “Look at this place. No wonder the local Nexomon have gone bonkers. It’s eerie, almost.”

She was right. The unmelting ice gave off a chill that gave the late summer air an odd feeling.

“Well, no time better for hunting Nexomite than the present!” Videll said. You went inside the cave.

Icicles glittered from the ceiling and a cold mist filled the cave. Iridescent reflections followed them through the clear, pure ice.

“Hurry up,” said Videll. “The last thing I want to be is trapped in here with you incompetent bronze tamers.”

“That’s fair,” you said.

Deeper in the cave, a multicolored rock waited at a dead end.

“Videll, do you see that?”

“Course I do! That’s a bunch of high quality Nexomite!”

“Well, let’s go over there and get it.” _And finally my first job can be over. And I’ll be paid._

“Hold on.” Videll held out her arm. “I sense another prescence in here. Something even more _valuable_ and _rare_.” _Did she… did she just lick her lips?_

“Uhh —“ Coco was cut off as Videll went in the opposite direction.

“Where is she going?” Coco said to you. You shrugged.

“HOLY SHIT! A GIANT ICE CRAB!!”

Something was nearby was stomping. Something huge.

“COME HERE, YA SKITTERY BASTARD.”

A giant white Nexomon scuttered away from Videll. It must’ve been over eight feet tall, with claws twice as big as its body.

“UHH VIDELL? I WOULDN’T TOUCH THAT?”

She was definitely going to.

Videll took out her axe.

_Oh no._

Grabbed it tight.

And made the swing—

CRASH!

“Videll? You okay!?” you said, running up to her.

She was frozen. Stopped in time, the moment of her swing was encased in ice.

“Videll!?”

“OH, POOR NIVALIS!” said a laughing voice, echoing around the cave.

A blue-haired woman with a fur cape descended from above. She rested on Nivalis’ claw and snarled at you and Coco.

“Why do we always get stuck with the weirdos?” Coco said.

 _“WHO ARE YOU CALLING WEIRD?”_ yelled the woman. “I AM RENEGADE ATLANTA. Nivalis here is the wonderful Tyrant of Frost. And this little miner girl was HARASSING her!”

“I wouldn’t say harassing. More like… attempting to murder for profit.”

“Shut your mouth, you horrible little cat.” Atlanta turned towards Nivalis.

“NIVALIS, EAT THEM!”

“Does… does that thing even have a mouth?” said Coco.

The entire room began to shake. The rumbling caused the icicles to fall and shatter.

“AAAAAHHH!!!” you and Coco screamed.

_What the heck am I supposed to do!_

There was Lume, but it was at a type disadvantage and underpowered. Or you could use your psychic powers —

_Nah._

“Go, Lume!” you yelled desperately.

“AAH! What do you think you’re doing!?” Renegade Atlanta said. A hint of fear was in her voice.

“Trying to survive??”

“Get that _thing_ away from Nivalis!”

Your face crumpled up. “Lume?”

 _“Yes, yes!_ Just get it away!”

“Are you… afraid of it?”

Lume moved a little closer. Nivalis crawled back.

 _“No,”_ Atlanta lied.

“Oh, really?” Lume moved closer. Atlanta’s eyes were wide.

“It’s just that fire melts ice.”

It took everything in your being to keep yourself from laughing.

Coco grinned in sheer disbelief. “You do know how type matchups work—“

You yelled. “YES! STAY AWAY FROM US! OR I’LL MELT NIVALIS WITH THIS LITTLE FIRE KITTEN! WATCH OUT!”

“Aaaah!” Atlanta moved Nivalis back.

“Damnit! You Guild tamers aren’t getting me this time!" She held up a peace sign. "Atlanta, out!”

Nivalis, carrying Atlanta on its back, retreated up the ceiling.

“I think she’s gone,” you said. Then you burst out laughing.

“How do you even make it that far in life without knowing basic type matchups? Nivalis is a water type,” said Coco, a tear in his eye.

You laughed together for a solid minute. 

Then you noticed that Videll was still frozen.

“Oh. Huh.”

“What are we gonna do about her?” said Coco.

You stared at Videll and thought a moment.

“I have a fantastic idea,” Coco said. He picked up the axe on the floor and grinned.

In one motion, the ice around Videll shattered into pieces.

“Huh? Where’d that ice crab go?”

You and Coco were silent.

“Oh, well. Let’s get this Nexomite!”

Walking back, Videll estimated she mined about 10,000 coins in Nexomite. It really was a profitable job.

“Well, you guys were pretty lame bodyguards, but at least there was a good haul inside. See ya bronze tamers later.”

You waved good-bye to Videll and warped back to Parum.

Amelie was waiting for you at the Guild Headquarters. She reviewed your work on her clipboard.

“Hm. It says here your adventure was completely uneventful. How nice!”

“Actually, we got attacked by a giant Tyrant and an insane Renegade,” said Coco.

“A TYRANT?” yelled Amelie. “Do you know which one?”

“I think its name was Nivalis.”

Amelie’s face scrunched. “ _Renegade Atlanta._ I should’ve known she was behind this.”

“Are you okay?” you asked.

“Perfectly fine,” said Amelie, who was struggling to control her breathing. “Anyway. Here’s your reward.”

Coco glanced up. “500 coins? Videll said she paid you 1,000. This is nothing.”

Amelie looked furious.”Listen here, you little shit. WE are in the middle of a god damned APOCALYPSE that has lasted for well over CENTURIES. The Nexomon of this world are waging a war against themselves…”

The mentor walked into the room and cleared his throat.

“Humanity might not even survive to see the end of the war! The Guild dispatches hundreds of tamers around the world, to fight giant beasts ten times bigger than themselves, provide adequate healing, food, bedding…”

The mentor spoke. “Uh, Amelie —“

“AND THEN, the Tyrants started to show up. Just as smart as Omnicron himself. They can evade our traps. They can evade our every strategy —“

“Amelie —“

“AND DESPITE OUR EVERY EFFORT, WE CAN’T STOP THEM UNTIL ONE OF THOSE PSYCHOTIC BEASTS BECOMES KING.”

“AMELIE —“

“And here, you expect this dying governement organization to pay you _more_? You want just a little _more_?”

“AMELIE!!” the mentor shouted. You'd never seen him yell.

“WHAT??? WHAT IS IT???”

He looked solemn. “The orphanage is being attacked.”

You immediately jumped up. “What? Why?”

The mentor sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I need you all to head over there right away.”

You and Coco sprinted out of the building to the nearest warpstone. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,” you said.

“You don’t think it’s that Tyrant, do you?!” shouted Coco.

_Dragons only attack Tyrants._

“I sure hope not!” You had the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t the case.

You warped over the the orphanage. Sounds of breaking glass and children yelling came from inside.

“Let’s split up!” you shouted. Coco nodded.

You slammed open your bedroom door to find a masked man intimidating your roommates. “You’re not the one, you’re not the one, you’re not the one.”

“What do you want from us?!” A little blonde kid, Lucas, cried.

The masked man turned. “Oh, a Guild tamer. Can’t I just go on one hostage mission without one of you pathetic sacks showing up?”

You sent out Lume, and took out his Outgrov first, then his Scalder, and finally his Skerdi.

“Damn it,” the masked man said, and ran off. You went up to your roommates.

“Are you guys okay?”

“He didn’t hurt us,” sniffed Lucas. “He was looking for a specific kid.”

“Hmm,” you hummed. Life at the orphanage sure has been eventful lately…

A crash, and then a boom came from upstairs.

“STAY BACK, YOU PIECES OF SHIT!”

That was definitely Nora’s voice. You sprinted upstairs to find her battling two masked men at once.

“Help me out, Y/N!”

“A pink-haired punk and a blue-haired punk,” one of the masked men spat. “What’s next? An orange-haired punk?”

“Let’s get out of here, dude,” the other man said. “It’s not worth it to face the Guild.”

“We’re so close to finding our target. I’m not giving up now!” He sent out his Nexomon.

Lume and Nora’s Nexomon teamed up to take out the masked men together.

You high fived her.

“Do you know why they’re here?” asked Nora.

“I heard that they were after a specific kid, but…” A loud thud sounded from the storage room.

“YOU BETTER RUN BEFORE I SMACK YOU!”

That was definitely Ross.

You tumbled down the stairs and slammed into the storage room. There was Coco and Ross, chasing after a terrified masked man. A few orphans cried in the corner.

“STOP CHASING ME!”

“You’re not afraid of a few bronze tamers, are you?” sneered Ross.

“Help us corner him!” Coco yelled to you.

You dove behind the table to the left, while Ross went to the right. Coco leapt up onto the table and blocked him.

“Got you,” Ross said.

Ross, Coco, and you sent out your Nexomon.

“Wait! Three against one?! That’s against the rules!” The masked man said.

Their combined Nexomon nearly killed this guy’s. He ran away, muttering something about his lord or something.

The orphans in the corner started clapping.

“Wow! Nexomon are so cool! I want to be a Guild tamer someday!”

“Why are we not allowed to have Nexomon?” One of the kids whined. “This is so unfair.”

“They’re biohazards, sweetie,” you said.

Ross looked around. “Is that all of them? Let’s get out of here!”

Ross and the other orphans evacuated. You breathed a sigh of relief.

“I wonder what they were here for —“

You began to tremble.

Suddenly, the entire room went red. Swirls of color flooded your vision, and you could barely make out the room. “Coco?”

_“I can see you, Y/N.”_

You felt your blood run cold. This was like when Deena froze time to talk to you, but… different. Much different. This voice was deep. Calm. Calculating.

_“You thought you could fool my eyes. But I know what you are destined to do. And I will not allow it.”_

_“_ Yeah, yeah, yeah,” you said, afraid. “I’m not afraid of you.”

 _“You should be, child. You should be very, very, scared.”_ The swirls of blood red danced between your eyes.

“ _I know your secret.”_

Welp. That sealed the deal. There was something deeply wrong with you — something that you were afraid of, too.

 _“_ Oh. You do?” you said, trailing off.

You blinked. The time was now. “Then you know… _you_ should be scared of ME.”

The darkness faded away. The storage room suddenly flushed back into color, Coco by your side. You felt like you could breathe again.

“Uh… What was that? Your eyes were… red.”

You still had her heart pounding in your chest. “Forget about it, Coco.”

“Does this have something to do with the title of this fic?”

“I said, forget about it.”

You evacuated outside. The mentor was waiting beside the other tamers.

“Excellent work, all of you.” He glanced over at you. “Ah, here they are.”

You and Coco walked up. The mentor handed you a few wind Nexotraps. “That is your official Guild reward.” _They’re really cheaping out, aren’t they?_

“Something strikes me as odd,” said Nora, thinking.

“Go on,” said the mentor.

“These guys were looking for a specific kid. Maybe… maybe it was Y/N?”

“WHAT??” Ross said. “Y/N IS SO BORING!”

“Shut up, Ross,” Nora said.

“No, YOU shut up.”

Coco glared at them. “Now kiss.”

They both stared at Coco.

The mentor did a slow blink. “Why do you think it was Y/N, Nora?”

“Well…” She tapped a finger to her lip. “Upstairs, I had those guys cornered. They were getting ready to run away… Until Y/N showed up. Y/N was the one orphan who wasn’t in the building at the time.”

They all thought for a moment.

“…but they're so boring!” said Ross.

“Nora, go with Ross and report all of this to Amelie. Come with me, Y/N. I need to speak with you. In private.”

_Uh oh._

Upstairs, the mentor was waiting. He sighed.

“Sometimes I think that girl is too smart for her own good.”

You stumbled backwards. “Wait, she was RIGHT?”

The mentor looked defeated. “Yes, Sophia. Those bandits were trying to kidnap you.”

“Wow. I mean, wow.” Your face was frozen in surprise.

“It’s time you get some answers.”

You swayed from side to side. “Okay.” _This is it. He’s going to tell me I’m a Tyrant._

_What the hell am I thinking? Not rationally._

“What if I told you… there was a good Tyrant, one that cared about both Nexomon and humans?”

“What, you mean Nara?”

The mentor nearly choked on his own spit. _“How do you know about her?”_

“I read up on it. Jeez, you think I would join the Guild without knowing its history?”

“Uh… I kind of assumed…” It was clear he couldn’t think anything up. He cleared his throat.

“Anyway, your parents spent their whole lives searching for a _different_ good Tyrant…”

You froze. You knew you had parents - but what kind of parents did you have if you turned out to be a NEXOMON? And, holy shit, did you COME FROM AN EGG??

 _“_ Are you okay, Y/N? You look a little pale…”

“Why-why were… my parents… looking for this Tyrant?”

The mentor stroked his beard. “They were, hmm. Avid researchers.”

“Oh. Huh.”

You were disoriented and a little sick.

“Are you… are you lying?”

“Of course not,” the mentor said sharply.

You squinted at him. There was a set of silverware on his desk - silverware that had never been used.

You levitated the fork into your hand.

The mentor started freaking out. “How - how did you —“

“You’re lying,” you said, levitating the fork to his face.

“T-th-Y/N- you’re threatening me with a kitchen fork? And — your powers —“

“What about them? I’m a psychic,” you said, already beginning to suspect the truth.

“I TOLD YOU TO TELL ME IF ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY HAPPENED!” Your mentor roared.

 _“Oh._ So you know something about this.” You moved the fork lower. He was holding information from you. Information that the possibility of which scared you.

“Tell me.”

The mentor couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Tell me.”

“Y/N, please-“

“Am I a Tyrant?”

Silence. The dead quiet made you shake even harder. The fork dropped the floor with a loud CLANG.

“… And why do you think that, Y/N?”

You were struggling not to break. This was your last chance.

“It’s true, isn’t it?”

The mentor sighed. “Yes.”

“That’s why those guys want to kidnap me… that’s why I have these powers… that’s why the dragon attacked me… How am I human?”

The mentor’s face is blank. “You were never supposed to find out.”

You didn’t know whether to celebrate or cry. The mentor went behind the desk and unlocked a golden chest. He pulled out a well-sized, colored-gravel-looking-thing that stunk of cologne. The mentor winced. He’d tried covering up the paint smell, but it wasn’t enough.

 _“_ Look, just take this to the Immortal Citadel. It’s down south.”

You grasped it. He gave you a synopsis about what it was supposed to represent, and you nodded like it wasn’t total bullshit. Finally, he said:

“Do not tell anyone about your true identity. Ever.”

The door slammed.

Coco was waiting for you outside.

“Hey, Y/N. So what was up?” Your hands shook around the egg.

“This is. Uhhhh. A Tyrant Relic, that my parents found. Apparently it belonged to the… Tyrant of Light.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Coco. “That’s so cool.”

“Yeah. Whatever.” You were obviously focused on something else.“We’re going to the Immortal Citadel.”

“Oh.” Coco was excited about the relic, but you weren't.

You were thinking. You were thinking about a lot of things.

You headed to the Immortal Citadel with nothing left to lose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I lied. you don't know you're a Tyrant the ENTIRE time but starting now you do.


	3. I ain’t afraid of no ghosts (but maybe a tree)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you deal with funky game mechanics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The moral of the story is that Coco is better than you.

_I’m not human._

That thought was rooted in your head as you went down the glowing purple road with Coco, who was reverently holding the so-called “Tyrant relic.”

You had so many questions. First of all, you probably came from an egg. That was a given. You shruddered at the thought of being _hatched_.

If you got into a fist fight, would you have to wait for your opponent to make a move before you could hit them back? Would you be limited to only four moves? Would your opponent?

You could drink potions and elixirs, right? They were cheaper than normal food, since humans couldn’t drink them. You could probably just live off of those, right? Guzzle a potion like a crisp Mountain Dew every now and then?

“I can’t believe your parents held on to this thing,” said Coco. “It’s almost bigger than _me_.”

“You’re four feet tall, Coco.”

“Hey, at least I know how to use a Nexomon!”

You snickered. It was almost true. Lume carried most of your battles; you barely knew its moveset.

He lifted the relic up a little higher. “I can’t believe your parents were searching for _Tyrants_ …”

“Me neither,” you muttered.

“What could this relic possibly be? Do you really think there’s a good Tyrant out there?”

“No.”

Coco got the hint and went silent. The path stretched far ahead, and you wondered about getting lost. You’d never liked being in the Haunted Woods, and the glowing evening atmosphere was giving you bad vibes. The other orphans used to make fun of you for being afraid of the ghosts, but you weren’t, really. You just hated the Immortal Citadel because it always felt like inescapable fate. Sooner or later, you’d get busted for being a psychic, and the mentor would lead you down this very path, shipping you away from your friends to study a practice lined with rigid, inescapable ranks and traditions.

_Well, at least I don’t have to worry about that anymore._

Apurple-haired girl dressed in uniform was resting on a stray boulder. Her eyes were closed, as if she was seeing something.

“Hello, young tamers,” she hummed as you approached, eyes still closed. 

“Would you like me to read your future?”

Coco looked at you expectantly. You shrugged.

“Why not?”

You gave her your hand and she grasped it tightly.

_Is she trying to cut off my circulation…?_

_“_ I see… I see…” she nodded.

“What is it?”

She opened her eyes wide. They were pale and panicked.

“A large, evil Tyrant!”

_What else._

“…and another…”

_Wait, what?_

The psychic was becoming increasingly horrified.

“And another…oh geez. That’s a lot of Tyrants!”

“I suddenly realize there is literally no reason for me to be with Y/N,” said Coco.

“P-please keep your distance from me, young Y/N,” the psychic said. “I do not want to cross paths with your misfortune.”

You took a few awkward steps back.

“Could you do my future, too?” said Coco.

“Of course, friend of the ill-omened.”

The psychic took Coco’s paw and closed her eyes.

“Hmm,” she said. “I see…”

A faint smile crossed her face. “A shining golden badge. A strong team of six. Colorful, colorful victory.”

“Huh,” said Coco. He didn’t say anything else, but you could see him thinking about _something_.

“That will be 700.”

Coco made his trademark glare.

“I’m sorry, what?” he said.

“700 coins, please. My services aren’t free.”

You sighed deeply and dug around in your backpack. There was the “pocket money” leftover from finding Mermella. You paid her and left.

The two of you passed a guard chattering into her earpiece and a swarm of Deyam. You dodged a naked tree branch that would’ve smacked you in the face.

“Why’d we pay her when YOU could just read the future for free?”

“I’m NOT that kind of psychic, Coco.”

“Psychics are psychics,” he said, fumbling. He was holding the Tyrant relic the best he could, but his arms were obviously too short.

 _“_ You want me to hold that?”

“I’m good,” he said, but his paws were slipping and the relic nearly fell out of his arms. You caught it and tucked it under your shoulder. He sighed.

“You don’t seem too excited about this ancient, mysterious, possibly powerful artifact? I thought you liked that stuff.”

You kept your eyes trained on the road.

“I dunno. It looks like someone stuck giant aquarium gravel together.”

_“AAAAAH!”_

Coco and you stopped in your tracks. The voice was a man’s.

A tall guard was barreling down the path, shoving you aside. He hid behind Coco, sobbing.

You cupped your hands together.

“ARE YOU OKAY, SIR?”

“THERE’S A GHOST! I SAW A GHOST!”

The guard was trembling. All you could do was stare.

“You saw a ghost?”

“A GHOST! A REAL LIVE — er, dead — SPIRIT!”

He was serious.

You took a deep breath. You were going to be _patient_. “Is this your first time seeing a ghost?”

“I don’t — I DIDN’T KNOW — the — _why_ it’s called the _Haunted Woods_ —“ he blubbered.

“This is a grown man,” Coco said.

You waved Coco off.

“Where did you see this ghost?”

“It—it—it was over there,” he said, pointing his shaking finger into the deep part of the woods. “I don’t — I couldn’t —“ He burst into tears.

“Come with me,” you said. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

He sniffled and nodded.

You walked further into the deep part of the woods with the manbaby with Coco following behind. A crumbling, gated cemetery was ahead. A shadowy blue figure loomed over a gravestone.

“AAAAAAAHHHH!”

The guard took off in a sprint.

“Come on! It’s not that big of a dea—“ you trailed off when you saw the ghost. 

“Oh. It’s _you_.”

The blue-haired hero leaned over a tombstone in ghostly form. The ghost was staring mournfully at the inscription.

It read: _IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE NEXOLORD, A VILLAIN WHO JUST SORT OF DISAPPEARED_.

“I wonder..." said the ghost, not looking away from the gravestone.

“You left your tomb?” Coco said.

The ghost and you made eye contact.

“I came to check up on _you_.”

You laughed nervously. “ _Me_?”

“Yes. After kicking Omnicron’s butt — multiple times — I figured I could come all the way out here, and teach you kids how to catch a Nexomon.”

“But I already have one right here.”

You held up Lume.

The ghost looked offended. “You know you can catch more than one, right?”

_Huh._

“What? I don’t need more, haha.” It was a fake laugh.

A very fake laugh.

“Alright, so, first you clip the Nexotrap onto your wrist…”

It’s been 15 minutes of the ghost hopelessly trying to show you how to use Nexotraps. The dead hero was obviously trying hard, but didn’t have a clue how modern Nexotraps worked.

“I… uh… You take the Nexotrap, onto your wrist… DAMN THESE THINGS. YOU KNOW WHAT? I NEVER HAD THESE FANCY ‘TRIANGLE’ NEXOTRAPS. WE HAD TO THROW THEM WITH OUR _BARE HANDS_.”

As the ghost waved the Nexotrap around, you began to feel your stomach turn. _I really hope that doesn’t land near me I really hope that doesn’t land near me please don’t land near me —_

Finally Coco snatched the Nexotrap from the ghost’s hands.

“Look, we appreciate the help, but I already have a full team of 6 Nexomon, and I’m sure Y/N can… manage.”

You gave the ghost a thumbs up.

“Whatever. I’ve got to go, anyway,” said the hero.

The spirit took a few crumpled flowers from their ghostly pocket and violently scattered petals over the grave.

“You… have somewhere to be?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” the ghost smirked.

Without another word, the spirit teleported away, leaving behind a few wilted magnolias.

“Welp, our journey isn’t getting any more normal,” said Coco. You secured the Tyrant relic in your backpack.

“So we’re going to have to get this thing… psychically analyzed or whatever.”

 _Just why did the mentor give me this, anyway?_ Your best guess that it was some sort of elaborate prank. Maybe this whole thing was an elaborate prank… But then the mentor would have to be in on it. And THAT would obviously never happen. 

“Umm, Coco…”

“Yes?”

“Never throw a Nexotrap near me.”

“…Should I even ask why?”

“…Nah.”

“Okay, then.”

Coco and you fell into silence. After turning past a gated cemetery ( _another one?_ ) you had a very bad idea. But it would involve staying in the woods alone. And you weren’t quite sure how much more you could take.

You tapped Coco on the shoulder.

“You can go on ahead. I’m gonna try to catch some ghost Nexomon,” you lied.

He nodded. “I think I need to train, too. Let’s meet at the Citadel Entrance,” he said, and split from you.

He turned a few corners and was quickly swallowed by the trees.

You breathed a sigh of relief. You scanned the area, heart pounding.

_There’s no one around._

Your wristband - the standard Tamer’s Watch issued by the guild - blinked to life.

The database loaded in an instant, springing forward hundreds of Nexomon renditions and information. You knew most tamers just used it as a reference point, but every now and then there was the odd collector dedicated to filling it out. All you had to do was scan a Nexomon and the database would retrieve the avaliable information for you. A decent amount of data was already logged, but you didn’t care about that. With shaking hands, you pressed the GET INFO button.

Your wristbrand buzzed, indicating it was ready to scan. You took a deep breath and pointed it at _yourself_.

At first, the page was blank, indicating an error. But then, more information began popping in, one piece at a time.

The type: Psychic. Then, base stats (which you had no clue how to read). The rarity, which was Legendary. That was true, you supposed. There’s only one of _you_ , after all.

And nothing else. No name, no description. But then the last bit loaded: the picture.

Huh. That was _you_?

Really, you’d never thought of how you’d look as a man-eating Tyrant, but this wasn’t what you expected.

You looked like a blue alien deer with swashes of gold and a white, fluffy tail. You guessed you could see it, but not really. It was decent enough.

At least you weren’t a formless blob?

_I’m not human, but I’m no Branipus, either._

The name and description never loaded. The food type it listed for you was a Perfect Berry, which you assumed was a placeholder because you’ve never tried one in your life. Interesting.

In some ways, you were glad the information wasn’t there. This meant the Guild knew next to nothing about you. _Good. This is good._

You decided you should probably go find Coco. You dug around in your pockets and sent out Lume. The confused kitten impatiently wandered around, meowing at its Nexotrap.

You turned the Nexotrap over, telepathically levitating it in your hand. You knew that it already belonged to Lume, but just seeing the shape of the pyramid made you tense. Maybe it didn’t need it? Was being in a Nexotrap uncomfortable?

“Lume!”

Lume immediately perked up at the sound of its name.

“Go FETCH!”

You threw the Nexotrap as hard as you could. Lume scampered off, thrilled.

A small chime came from your wristband. A new loading bar was there.

_Uploading entry to Database…_

“SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!”

You scrambled for the CANCEL button.

After missing the button five times, the watch made a low beep.

_Upload cancelled._

You sighed in relief. The data must’ve started to automatically upload because it scanned an unknown Nexomon. If there was any way the Guild found out about your Tyrant form, you definitely didn’t want this to be it.

You looked up to see Lume… who wasn’t there. Wait, where _was_ Lume?

You turned 360 degrees, getting increasingly worried.

“Lume?” you called out. “Lume?!”

Suddenly a high-pitched shriek came from the deep woods.

A wave of fear crept up your spine.

“Lume!”

You sprinted towards the end of the woods. It was getting darker and darker, but you should be able to see Lume’s firey little head.

A dead end. It was lightless. You could just barely make out the sihoulettes of leaves on the trees.

“Lume? Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!” You felt like a horrible pet owner.

_“Hey, kiddo…”_

You froze.

There was Lume, glowing in the pitch darkness. The smell of pine was overpowering. Your eyes traced what it was illuminating — tree bark? — and followed it up to see the giant, sharp-toothed face staring back at you.

_“Don’t be afraid, Y/N…”_

All you could do was blink. The tree was absolutely massive, and was illuminated in violet. From the trunk was its horrible face with thousands of sharp teeth and extending from its branches were thick wooden branches — hands?

Lume sat on the ground, pawing at its Nexotrap.

_“I’m just a friendly tree. A friendly, talking tree! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”_

“Oh. Okay.”

You slowly picked up Lume’s Nexotrap.

_“NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! What are you doing with my friend?!”_

“Your… friend.”

“ _Don’t take him! I’m so lonely. So very lonely. Don’t take him, PLEASE!”_

From the branches, a Golden Nexotrap fell out and hit you on the head. _Ow._

“ _Yes! That is a gift… I have so many gifts. So many gifts for all my wonderful friends. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”_

You tucked the Golden Nexotrap into your bag.

_I’m literally never going to use this._

_“_ You… can’t bribe me. This is my Nexomon.”

“ _I would be forever grateful… if you did not take him! He is the only friend… keeping me company in this lonely forest.”_

Your initial shock was fading away.

“Sorry, but I only lost him for, like, five minutes? So, I’ll be taking him back now.”

_“NO!”_

You bent over to grab Lume’s Nexotrap and returned him.

The ground began to shake beneath your feet.

The tree was no longer smiling.

_“AAAAAAARAAAAAGH!”_

A red glow suddenly shone from the tree. The earth was shaking so hard now you nearly blacked out.

“YOU SHOULD’VE LISTENED TO ME, Y/N!”

You began to run. The purple trees twisted and spiraled in your vision.

“YOU SHOULD’VE LISTENED TO ME!”

You turned a corner. And another.

Everything looked the same.

“YOU SHOULD’VE LISTENED TO ME…”

You just wanted to get out. And the light was fading in and out and up and down and you had no idea where you were going and—

THUD!

You crashed into something short, stumbling backwards, landing on your backpack as your vision faded away…

“Damnit, Y/N! What gives!?”

Coco leaned over you, pissed.

You closed your eyes and gasped for air.

“Do you not know where you’re going? The heck? You were sprinting faster than Ross being a scared little baby-“

“Coco,” you wheezed, “I-“

“You could’ve killed me, you know? I mean, it’s not my fault I’m vertically challeged, but you could at least make a point to look out for me. We all have our struggles, understand?”

“I saw,” you gasped. “BigeviltalkingtreetryingtostealLume-”

“Yeah, whatever.” He shrugged and helped you up. You were wobbling a little with adrenaline, but okay. Lume was safe in its Nexotrap.

Coco took a second glance at you. It was probably obvious that you were freaked.

“Wait-“ he stifled a laugh. “Wait a minute. Are you scared of the ghosts?”

You dusted off your cape. “No.”

“ _You?_ The kid with supernatural powers?”

“It was a tree.”

“A _tree_?” He snickered. “Yeah, sure. You get spooked by a tree but not whatever horrors probably live here.”

“The tree _is_ a horror—“ You buried your face in your hands.

Coco sighed. “You know what, forget it. Let’s just go to the Citadel.”

You nodded.

Together, you trekked deeper into the haunted woods, dipping under fallen logs and weaving your way through crumbling gravestones. White cobblestone bridges ran over the water, leading into the city.

“Is that it?”

Coco squinted. “I think so.”

As you approached, two stiff-looking guards eyed you. Getting closer, they held up their hands in unison.

“Halt,” said the woman. She lifted up her shades and scanned you and Coco.

“Uh… how old are you kids?”

“We’re bronze tamers!” You smiled and showed her your badge. “We can go through, right?”

The male guard frowned, confused. “Look, kids, this really isn’t the best place to play. The area to the north has had potential Tyrant activity, so we’re taking precautionary measures around here. It would be best if you just went home.”

_I did not just survive a killer tree to get turned away._

_“_ Aw, come on!” Coco crossed his arms.

_Maybe you could scare your way through?_

_“_ Actually,” you said, factually, “We’re here on an assignment from Amelie herself. It’s highly important. If you can’t let us through, you’d probably be obstructing official Guild demands.”

“An assignment from AMELIE?!” the male guard said, panicked.

The female guard rolled her eyes. “We never said you can’t come in. ”

“Oh. Right. It’s just that you may or may not get eaten by a Tyrant,” chipped in the male guard.

The female guard punched him on the shoulder.

“Just…proceed with caution.” She waved for you to come through.

Coco and you thanked them, and went through the gates.

You fist pumped. “High five for lying.”

“I don’t have fingers.”

You high fived.

“So, this is the city of ghosts.”

It was about what you expected. Each house was absolutely battered with cobwebs. The smell of decaying wood filled the air. Your eyes had to adjust to the dim light. You disliked it almost instantly, just as you imagined.

“Yep,” said Coco.

“Welcome to the Immortal Citadel. Filled with doomed souls, origin of Hilda’s curse, yadda yadda yadda.”

“Wonder when they’ll find a cure for it,” you muttered.

“Oh, probably never. This plot point is going to milked until everyone gets sick of the ghost type.”

“Anyway,” you reached into your backpack and pulled out the Tyrant relic.

“We have to find the witch to tell us about this thing. I guess.”

“I can barely remember her name. Lisa? Emma?”

“Eliza, I think,” you racked your brain, thinking of your mentor’s instructions. At the time, your mind was definitely NOT focused on them.

_I’m not human._

_You were never supposed to find out._

You winced.

_Go away._

“I don’t know if we should ask around or not,” said Coco.

You could see why. Some of the ghosts drifting between buildings looked absolutely _miserable_. One, an older lady wearing a battered suit, passed through the side of a house. She turned, and you made eye contact for a solid ten seconds. You could’ve sworn her eyebags sunk even lower. Then she moved on, drifting glumly off to who-knows-where.

“Okay, game plan,” you said.

“We’re avoiding everyone?”

You nodded. “We’re avoiding everyone.”

You didn’t want to be rude or anything - ghosts were people like everyone else - but something about the Immortal Citadel made you want to get out of there as soon as possible. Plus, you couldn’t wait to see what this so-called “psychic” had to say about your “Tyrant relic.”

“The mentor said something about a manor. So, let’s just find whatever building looks fanciest and bust inside.”

“Whatever you say, boss.”

Coco and you strolled through the Citadel as quickly as possible, avoiding the eyes of the translucent spirits. Apart from being in the living minority, you were also some of the youngest people there. The Citadel didn’t exactly have a reputation for being kid-friendly — most living people there were wanderers who picked an eccentric place to take refuge from the Tyrants. A skeletal Tyrant hand jutted out of the ground and was seeped in a green glow. The dirt trails were patchy in spots that the ghosts floated over, letting the grass reclaim its place.

“Helloo!” said a colorful-haired woman, approaching you two.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. Oooh, Guild tamers, am I right?”

She pointed to your badges.

You nodded.

“Then you should DEFINITELY know that our shop — the witch’s brew — is having a two-for-one sale on ethers right now. Look for the giant cauldron to the west — you can’t miss it.”

“…Okay.”

The woman was gone as quickly as she approached. You heard her start pitching to another person: “Helloo!”

“So _this_ is what the witches of the Immortal Citadel do,” said Coco.

“DON’T YOU SEE, COCO? Don’t you see what would’ve happened to me if I got caught using my powers and sent here?”

You both stared at the witch chatting with the disinterested tamer, slowly backing away.

“I’d be scamming these poor tamers left and right.”

“But I heard they actually have quality potions here. Best in the world, actually.”

“Who cares? This place _sucks_. Do you see that manor anywhere?”

“Actually, yeah. Iron gate, twelve o’clock.”

You both stopped in front of the building.

The intricately designed gate was attached to an old-style brick fence, protecting the largest house in the city. _That must be the manor._

A white-haired ghost was shakily standing outside of it. You wondered what he was doing there - he couldn’t possibly be _guarding_ the place, could he? As soon as you got within 20 feet of the house, he began to shout at you.

“HEY! Who goes there?” He had a slightly deranged look in his eye. “Eliza’s manor is OFF LIMITS!”

“Eliza?” said Coco. “Is that the psychic of this place?”

The ghost’s face twisted in anger.

“Lady Eliza told me to only allow people in who could guess her very secret number. Only then may you enter!”

_A passcode?_

“A-Alright… I suppose we could do that.”

“It is between one and ten million! Good luck!”

 _Say what?_ “Excuse me?”

“Go ahead, kids! Try to guess the number!”

The ghost stared at you eagerly.

You turned to Coco. “Well, shit. Any guesses?”

Coco thought for a moment. “Okay, between one and ten million. That’s 9,999,999 numbers, right?”

“Uhhh.” It was becoming increasingly obvious that the Orphanage never taught you math.

“So what number is missing?”

“Ten million and one?”

“It’s a trick question. Zero. The secret number has to be zero.”

“Holy _shit_ Coco, you’re a genius.”

He shrugged.

You turned back to the ghost.

“So? Any guesses?”

“Zero,” you answered proudly. _Bet you weren’t expecting that._

“IMPOSSIBLE!” The elderly ghost yelled. “That’s exactly right! Look! I have it on this index card, right here!”

He showed you the index card.

“You’re kidding, right?” Coco facepalmed. “It was a joke. You said the number was between one and ten million. What kind of scam is this?”

“Hmmmm,” the ghost said, rubbing his chin. “I never thought about that before.”

“You can’t think that the passcode is something other the range you gave us?”

He looked hurt. “I… Lady Eliza knows best.”

“Can we go in now?”

“Why, of course. Please go ahead, friends! My name is Alfred, by the way!”

Alfred waved you on as you nearly broke down the door.

“HELLO?? ANYONE HOME??”

“This was part of your ‘game plan,’ wasn’t it? To bust inside?”

“I bet she’s ignoring us,” you said.

All psychics seemed to have superiority complexes, and you bet this “Eliza” was no different. 

You knocked even harder. “HELLO???”

“She’s home, right? She has to be,” Coco muttered.

“Okay, that’s it.” You focused your mind. “I’m breaking down this door in 3…2...1…”

_BAM!_

_“_ Ah. That’s going to be expensive,” Coco said, eyeing the spines of wood now lining the floor. “Nice use of psychic power, though.”

“Thank you,” you said, knowing your telekinesis came in handy at _some_ point.

The house was almost completely empty, apart from a red circle rug and an empty dining table. Everything was neatly ordered but covered in dust. Candelabras flickered on the ceiling. You had a feeling that no one had paid attention to this room for a long, long time.

“Huh…” said Coco, thinking. “It’s awfully quiet in here, don’t you think?”

“You’re thinking we should go upstairs?”

“I don’t know… It’s almost… too quiet…”

You wandered past a grandfather clock into the kitchen. Alfred was standing idly by a pile of old barrels.

“Oh! Hello, Y/N and Coco! How are you liking this accursed place?”

“It’s alright. Do you have any idea where Eliza is-“

“Lots of tamers come here to catch Psychic-type and Ghost-type Nexomon. You should get some too, buddy!”

“Pass. I just need to know where to find Eli-“

“You know, I’ve always wanted to become a tamer just like you guys.”

“Well, what the heck is stopping you!?”

Alfred got that deranged look again.

“I can’t buy Nexotraps because the shop owner is a talking dog! He creeps me out! I hate dogs! They’re the worst!”

“Of course,” said Coco, putting his paws together. “I understand completely, Alfred.”

“Can we go now?”

“Hold on. I’m going to give this guy a few Nexotraps.”

“R-Really? That would be amazing! Thank you, Coco!”

Coco was still digging around in his bag.

“Huh. I can’t seem to find any. You have some, right, Y/N?”

You blinked. You hoped you’d never have to carry an empty Nexotrap on you a day in your life. Suddenly you had the mental image of your blue alien-deer form.

_I’m not human._

“Um… No. Screw this. I’m heading upstairs.”

You headed over to the stairwell and heard Coco give him the traps. He happily caught up to you.

“Alfred didn’t pay you back?” you asked.

“No need to. That was personal.”

His eyes had a slight glint of destruction.

The upstairs room was circular, lined with red carpet and curtains. A wall-sized window let in the setting sunlight. A ring of candles circled the center of the room, where a young, turquoise-haired girl was sitting. She had her eyes closed and her hands moving over a crystal ball, levitating between them.

She kept her eyes shut as you approached. Then she spoke.

“Hello, Y/N.”


	4. The Immortal Citadel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ELIZA APPRECIATION CHAPTER

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is Coco the hero we needed all along?

Oh, great. She was showing off by already knowing your name. Oooh, she _knew your name!!_ She’s a psychic. Big deal.

“I’ve been expecting you and your pet,” she said, eyes still closed.

Coco glared. “You must be Eliza.”

“Ayup, the bestest psychic in the world!” said Eliza, opening her eyes and breaking out in a grin.

The eerie glow of the candles suddenly become mellow.

Oh. You didn’t notice before because of her demeanor, but this kid was barely older than you were.

 _“_ How do we know you’re the real deal?” you said, a bit curious.

Eliza rolled her eyes. “Pfft!”

Coco and you exchanged a look.

“I knew you’d guess the passcode was zero. You want to find the Tyrant of Light. Someone tried to kidnap you. This story isn’t even canon!”

“Oh, she’s definitely the real deal,” said Coco.

You rummaged through your bag and pulled out the Tyrant relic, which had been chipped a bit when you broke down the door.

“What can you tell us about this ‘artifact?’”

_Let’s see if you’re as good as you say you are._

“Oh. I know EVERYTHING about the Tyrant of Light.”

_Everything?_

“But I can’t help you right now, nay… You’ve been through my city. Did you notice anything strange?”

Coco smirked. “Anything strange? In a cursed city full of ghosts? Of course not.”

But Eliza was looking at you. You were trying to avoid her eye contact, because you _did_ see something strange.

“What’d you see, Y/N?”

“I…um…” You shrugged. “Nothing.”

 _Probably_ nothing.

Eliza crossed her arms. “I’ll cut to the chase, then! Just when you fools arrived, wild Nexomon started going berserk all over the city, wreaking havoc!”

You facepalmed.

“Isn’t this place literally built on a Nexomon graveyard?! How is this our fault?”

Eliza was mad now.

“There is no such thing as coincidence, dimwit! This is your doing! You want my counsel?? Fix what you caused. Three monsters. CHOP! CHOP!”

You and Coco turned towards each other, speechless. He sighed in defeat.

“I guess we’ll look around the city and see if we can help.”

You glared at Eliza.

“I’ll even throw in an egg tart for your troubles,” she smiled sarcastically.

You shrugged. “Fine. You know what? Fine.”

Downstairs, Alfred was fumbling around with his borrowed Nexotraps.

“Hey! You two! How the nutchok do you use these things?”

“Oh, uh,” said Coco. “We’re in a bit of a rush, but the gist of it is that you attach the Nexotrap to your wrist -“

“WHAT?”

“- and you launch it using this button -“

“WHAT?”

“Launch trap. Get Nexomon.”

“ARE YOU KIDDING? Back in my day, we had to throw Nexotraps with our _BARE HANDS_ —“

“Let’s get out of here,” you whispered.

Coco and you escaped to the center of the city.

The same feeling of dread washed over you again. The witches and psychics milling about. The ghosts that have seen eternities. The Tyrant bones. The guy biting his string cheese whole. You were unsettled.

“So, three Nexomon going rampant…” said Coco. “I guess it won’t be too hard to find them, will it?”

A scream came from the nearby cemetery.

You smiled. “Not at all.”

Coco and you sprinted to the cemetery to find a crouching, monkey-like Nexomon spirit, cornering the ghost of a feline shopkeeper.

“S-stay back!” the striped cat yelled.

“STAY BACK, YOU FOUL MONSTER!”

You couldn’t believe your eyes. That monkey was as big as a mini office trashcan, at most.

“Y-You think I’m afraid of you?!” The ghost yelled, clearly flustered.“TAKE THIS!”

He charged at the Nexomon, only to get shoved over like a soft stick of butter.

“Ugh!” The cat cried out. “Y-You may be stronger, but I can still OUTRUN YOU!”

The monkey started to chase the helpless cat around in circles. You and Coco could only watch.

“This is getting sad,” Coco said. “We should do something…”

You sighed and threw out Lume. Lume charged between the two, and began scratching and pawing at the monkey, which your Database registered as a Monkapow.

“KICK HIS ASS, LUME!”

Coco looked surprised. “You’re not going to tell it any moves…?”

“I don’t know any of its moves,” you shrugged.

“What? Why?”

“Lume does just fine on his own,” you smiled, gesturing to Lume, who was now attempting to chew up the Monkapow’s neck.

“It’s a ghost, you can’t bite him,” you helpfully called out. Still, perhaps out of pure shock, the Monkapow dissipated.

The shopkeeper brushed the sweat from his forehead and sighed in relief.

“I’m too old for this…” he muttered to himself, trailing off.

“Anyway, thanks, friend. Name’s Ron. That monster was tormenting me even when I was still alive!”

“Aww, friends to the end,” you said, and looked at Coco, who glared at you.

“Anyway, I guess I should give you something, since that’s how this usually works.”

He pulled a sparkling, gilded key from his pocket.

“Here you go.”

“What’s this do?”

“Centuries ago, this snotty little rich kid decided to bury his gold in vaults throughout the world. He must’ve been under the delusion that he was some sort of pirate. I’d say it isn’t worth finding them, lest you run into his bratty spirit!” Ron grimaced.

“Anyway, this key opens one of those vaults.”

“Noted.” You put it away, though you weren’t planning on using it anytime soon.

“Okay, that’s one restless spirit off the list,” said Coco, making a virtual checkmark. Lume mewed.

“Aww, do ya see anything, boy?”

Suddenly his ears perked up and began swiveling around.

“You hear something?” You turned and trailed the direction of the noise. It was like a low _thud_ in the distance.

Coco and you followed Lume, tracking it down.

Down the road, a lumbering, mummy-like Nexomon rampaged. It picked up a piece of the ground and threw it at a ghost, going right through them.

“Wh-what’s wrong with that Nexomon!?” the ghost said. “Can someone stop him? I’m not a tamer!”

“As if the property value here wasn’t low already!” Another ghost complained.

You moved them aside and held onto the bridge.

The first ghost cried out.

“I wouldn’t do that! It’s attacking anyone who goes on the bridge!”

The Nexomon’s single eye snapped over, fixating on you and Coco. It leapt towards you, crumbling the bridge beneath its feet. Bricks shook and fell into the water.

“Ah, Y/N…” the Nexomon spoke.

_Oh, great. Someone else knows my name. Lovely._

“Yes… Y/N… I know your little secret, Y/N…”

Your blood ran cold.

“What is that thing talking about?” said Coco. “We don’t have any secrets —“

The Nexomon began to stomp again, shaking the ground.

“You may have fooled everyone else. But not me! I can see… I can see through your dark schemes, Y/N!”

The mummy, the Carcaros, lunged toward you, backing you into a corner. Without thinking, you grabbed the brick at your feet and swung it.

The old cement burst into dust.

Carcaros stumbled backwards.

You voice shook. “Now, Lume!”

Lume breathed a torrent of bright flame at Carcaros, burning away its light, as if it were a shadow. The dust on its shoulders caught fire. It screamed in terror and teleported away.

You took a moment to catch your breath and readjust your gloves.

“That was pretty weird, huh?” whispered Coco, visibly frightened. “He just talked as if you were super evil or something, haha!”

You said nothing.

“Which you are not… right?” Coco glared.

You laughed nervously. “No promises, haha.”

_Okay, Eliza has to be playing mind games on me. She has to be._

You looked around. None of the ghosts caught that, right? None?

“That was a perfectly good brick!” one yelled.

… _Thank Ulzar._

“Okay, Darth Y/N, there should be one more problem around here for us. Any ideas?”

For a moment, Coco and you stood and waited. No screams, no noises, nothing. You shrugged.

“Guess we’ll have to go find it ourselves.”

“Help! Can someone help me out?”

“Nevermind, there it is.”

You searched the area. Coco went on ahead to investigate the location of the voice. He waved you over to the city’s outskirts, where a small market and Guild outpost were stationed.

At the market entrance, a small crowd had gathered. A brown dog in a shopkeeper’s uniform stood there, his arms crossed.

“Oh! A tamer! Excellent.” He excitedly shook your hand.

“Name’s Cooper. Could you help me, please?”

“I’m a tamer, too,” Coco mumbled.

“Did you hear something?” Cooper looked around.

“…Anyway, that weird little girl is scaring off all my customers!”

He pointed to a Folicurse. The Nexomon was floating off the ground, completely still, as if it were paused in time. Between its long, straight black hair, its single eye stared off into the distance. It reminded you of a dead fish.

“Oh, of course.”

Coco snickered. “Kinda looks like you, Y/N.”

“Hey!” _Just because I have big hair…_

You cautiously approached the Folicurse.

“Hi, buddy…”

The Folicurse let out an inhuman screech. You jolted backwards, and Coco hid under his hat.

Cooper fell to the ground, covering his ears. “Shut her up!”

“Go, Lume!”

This would be an easy battle, considering the type advantage. Lume’s claws lit up with pure flame. It leapt at the other Nexomon, raking its claws at Folicurse’s hair. Folicurse suddenly teleported, and Lume looked around, confused.

“Behind you!”

It was too late. The Folicurse grabbed Lume and flipped it over, knocking it out. It crumpled to the ground.

“No!”

You gently picked up the unconscious Lume. Folicurse hissed at you.

“No way…”

_I lost._

“Having trouble?” Cooper called over.

“What are you waiting for, Y/N?” Coco whispered. “Send out the next one!”

You looked down at Lume, faintly breathing, nestled in your arms.

“I don’t have any others.”

“What are you talking about? You mean Lume’s your only one?”

You nodded.

“Damnit, Y/N.” Coco sighed in disbelief.

The Folicurse still floated motionlessly. Staring at you and Lume…

“Fine,” said Coco, stomping up to Folicurse. “I guess I’ll take it on.”

He pulled a Nexotrap from his bag.

“Go, Domigator!”

Coco sent out a Nexomon you’d never seen before, a blue alligator almost twice his height. Now that you thought about it, you’d never actually seen Coco’s team.

“Domigator, explosive water!”

The gator Nexomon conjured a spinning sphere of water and punched Folicurse. The ghost’s form shattered into a million pieces and disappeared.

“WHAT THE HELL?”

Cooper ran over and grabbed you by the shoulders. He had a crazed look.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?! YOU KILLED HER!”

“W-Well,” you said as he shook you, “To be fair, it was already dead-“

“That was AMAZING!” he smiled. “Now I can finally get back in business!”

“Oh. C-Could you stop shaking me?!”

He set you down. “How can I ever repay you?”

“I’m the one who saved your shop, but okay,” Coco said.

You shook your head.

“No need to repay us—“

“How about a ghost Nexotrap?”

He held out a purple pyramid.

You instinctively backed away.

“NO NEED,” you said a bit too loud.

“I’ll take it,” offered Coco.

“Nevermind.”

Coco crossed his arms as Cooper tucked the reward back into his pocket.

“Of course _this guy_ is perfectly fine with us supposedly murdering a little girl.”

“C’mon Coco, let’s get out of here.”

You headed over to the small camp next door. A medic stood near the tent with a red cross on it. You handed Lume off to him.

He set Lume’s Nexotrap into a small tray that looked similar to an ice cube mold.

“I saw this little guy take a pretty bad hit,” said the medic, hitting a few buttons on the machine.

_I can’t believe I actually lost._

The machine chimed a few times before it opened up again, giving you back the Nexotrap.

“He should be all better now.”

“Oh!” you said, reaching into your bag, “What do I owe you?”

You had a bit of money left, but you’d wanted to save that for other supplies…

The medic had a confused smile.

“Have you never used a healing center before? It’s free.”

“Oh, thank you, then,” you breathed a sigh of relief, “thank you!”

You gave him a wave as you and Coco walked back to the citadel.

“That should be all the incidents, right?”

Coco was silent.

“Oh, and uh… thanks for saving me back there, Coco.”

“It really wasn’t a big deal,” said Coco. “Like, at all.”

Was that a hint of anger in his voice?

Eliza’s manor was just as pale and dilapidated as you left it. The main room was still silent, with Alfred nowhere to be found.

Upstairs, Eliza greeted you with a smile.

“Welcome back!”

You couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable. Maybe it was because you were both psychics?

“Are you gonna help us now?” asked Coco. “We need to learn about this artifact…”

“In a moment. Someone is coming to kidnap Y/N.”

“Huh?”

“Keep your eyes forward,” said Eliza.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“EYES FORWARD, FOOLS!”

Eliza was staring out the window.

Coco and you exchanged a look, then reluctantly turned towards the window, too.

Suddenly, something slammed into the glass.

A shirtless man stuck to the window, along with two of the masked men that invaded the orphanage. His smashed and confused face slid slowly down, until he peeled off like a dead bird.

Eliza had a knowing grin.

“See! That’s why I reinforced the glass! I knew they’d try to break in!”

You opened your mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Eliza walked up to the window and peered down. The shirtless man was motionless on the ground.

“Did you kill him?”

“Tsk. No.”

The shirtless man turned over. He pointed up at the manor with a shaking hand.

“You…witch!”

Eliza laughed.

“Petty clown, you are but a puppet in this grand play of mine!”

Coco and you stood there, speechless.

“Anyway. He won’t be getting up anytime soon.”

She returned to her crystal ball.

“Did you like the training I gave you?”

“‘Training?’”

Eliza nodded, amused.

“You’re the one who set those Nexomon _rampant_?” Coco said.

“And now you’re much stronger because of it. You’re welcome.”

_Really? Is that her idea of a gift?_

You grabbed the Tyrant relic from you back and set it on the carpet.

“Can you tell us what this _thing_ is, finally?” you huffed.

Eliza crouched down to the relic. Coco and you did the same. She hovered both hands over it, as if scanning its aura.

“Goodness! I’d never thought I’d see this with my own eyes.”

She sounded amazed, but she was giving an almost sarcastic smirk.

“Well? How is this old thing related to the Tyrant of Light?”

Eliza chuckled. “How could you be so blind?”

“Ladies and gentlemen, this IS the Tyrant of Light! It’s not a relic. It’s an egg!”

Eliza gestured to the relic, as if that explained everything.

_Uh…_

Coco’s voice shook with awe. 

“Y-You mean that a Tyrant will HATCH from this thing?!”

“Precisely!” Eliza smiled. Then she looked directly at you.

“The Tyrant of Light is just a myth, a bedtime story… but now YOU have the means to make it a reality!”

_This is total bullshit._

“We can have our very own Tyrant?!”

Coco glanced towards you to gauge your reaction, but you were expressionless.

“Yep! How very exciting…” she trailed off, still looking at you.

“Interested?”

Coco was delighted. “Are you kidding?! OF COURSE WE ARE! How do we hatch this thing?”

“Step one is to nourish it with elemental power. For that, you must visit a specific type of shrine. Ley lines, as some people call them, scattered across the world. The closest one I know of is in the City of Ignitia.”

Coco was already mapping it out on his Tamer’s Watch.

“Of course, the Guild would HATE it if they found out you were hatching a Tyrant…” Eliza trailed off.

“But that’s your own decision, Y/N. If you really want to hatch the egg, head to the elemental shrine…”

You arms were stuck to your sides.

“When can I get that egg tart you promised?” you asked.

Eliza rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

She headed to the back to get it.

“You don’t deserve this, of course. But a promise is a promise.”

You took the tart. Just as you turned to leave, Eliza jabbed you in the back.

“OW! What gives!”

“Could I speak with you in private, maybe?”

She glared at Coco.

Coco sighed. “I’ll be downstairs.”

He grabbed the egg tart from you - “HEY!” - and disappeared down the hall.

“So… what is it?”

Eliza was looking at you with pity, almost.

“I noticed you looked a bit uncomfortable.”

Well, now you were. “What — I’m not—“

“I know you’re a psychic, Y/N.”

You really could get nothing past her, could you? _Well, I_ did _break down her door with telekinesis…_

All of your fears of getting found out came rushing back. Making the other orphans swear to keep your powers a secret. Finding out that you could move things with your mind. The mental image of being forced to study in the Citadel while all your friends lead exciting, normal lives.

“You’re not— you’re not going to _recruit me_ , are you?”

“Pffff,” Eliza started cackling.

“Oh no, no, no. Is THAT what you were afraid of? Of course not. Sorry — I mean, it’s true.”

Your palms were sweating. “I am so confused.”

“You’re simply not witch material. Don’t take that the wrong way. You’re strong enough, but you have a different set of powers, is all. Instead of the normal witchy things, like reading the future and telling auras, you have more of a power to manipulate the physical world. Not that that’s a bad thing! We would just never hire you.”

You calmed down a bit.

“Uhh… thanks?”

Eliza stared at you in silence. You turned to leave.

“Oh, and one more thing,” she said, “You’d BETTER take that Tyrant egg to Ignitia. Fate is not kind to those that stray off her path.”

You stared at her and nodded solemnly.

“Well, good luck!” she said cheerfully.

Coco was downstairs, configuring his Tamer’s Watch.

“Ignitia, huh? An underground city in the middle of the desert. I’ve always wanted to go there.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Ignitia. You’d heard about it a few times — a replacement settlement for a city that was wiped off the map by a Tyrant. Could you do that?

“Can I hold the egg?” Coco said, happier than you’d ever seen him. “Promise I won’t drop it this time.”

You gave him a thin smile. “Sure. Let’s just get out of here.”

You speedwalked out of the manor faster than Coco could keep up. As you crossed the cobblestone bridge, you spotted someone on the other side.

Grandmaster Deena.

_Oh shit oh shit oh shit there she is._

You met in the middle.

Deena was silent as her eyes darted from you to Coco. Her arms were crossed.

_Oh no._

“Y/N? What are you doing in a place like this?”

“Hey, Deena!” said Coco, swerving from side to side, trying to hang on to the egg.

“Do you know how to hatch a Tyrant egg?”

Deena froze.

“W-W-Whaaaaaa—“

Her voice fizzled out in shock.

“Wow. We made her break character,” said Coco.

She ran her fingers through her hair.

“Y/N!! Raising a Tyrant is a super serious crime!”

Coco looked ashamed.

“But we can use this Tyrant! We can use it to defeat the other Tyrants once and for all!”

“That’s exactly what Renegades like Atlanta thought. They were guild tamers like you and me, who sought to bring peace using those monstrosities!”

The word _monstrosities_ caught your breath.

_She isn’t gonna freeze time again, is she?_

“Those corrupted tamers lost their way, and now we are stuck with half a dozen psychotic Tyrants.”

She hesitated.

“You need to find an elemental shrine.”

_What was that?_

“W-Wait,” said Coco, “you’re helping us?”

“I’d like to believe in you. But the other Guild tamers won’t be so keen on it. So I’d keep my mouth shut, if I were you.”

She lingered on the word _you_ , glaring directly at you.

“Wait, Deena,” you said as she turned.

She looked a bit glum. “Yes?”

“There’s this creepy-ass ghost that’s following us around. Blue hair, slightly obnoxious. It was in the underground hideout you sent us to. What’s up with that?”

“Oh,” Deena waved you off.

“Don’t worry about that ghost. They’re one of my siblings. Well, in-laws.”

_Something isn’t adding up here?_

“Uh, Deena, why is your in-law a 1000 year-old ghost?”

She ran her fingers through her hair.

“W-When did I say that?”

“You literally just said it,” said Coco with a hint of concern.

“You must have misheard. Anyway, I have some important things to do…Best of luck.”

She walked off. Coco and you glanced at each other. 

You tapped a finger to your chin.

“That was… pretty weird.”

“Who cares?!” said Coco, starstruck. “We have a Grandmaster on our side now!”

_Who somehow seems to know me personally._

“We’ve got to go to Ignitia as quickly as possible, now,” Coco said, dialing up his Tamer’s Watch.

“According to my map, it’s a half-hour walk from here to the desert. We can make it there before nightfall!”

He began to run off, but turned around when he realized you were left behind. You were standing firmly on the bridge, lost in thought.

_I’m a Tyrant. A psychic one._

_And here is the Tyrant “egg” that I’m supposed to hatch. Even though it looks like a 10-year-old’s first sculpture…_

_A psychic wants me to go to Ignitia. My mentor wants me to go to Ignitia. And now, the Grandmaster that can freeze time wants me to go to Ignitia…_

There’s something more going on here.

This was all a giant lie. You had the sinking feeling that you were following someone else’s grand plan…

“Y/N? Are you coming?” Coco trotted back to you. He noticed you were deep in thought.

“What’s wrong? You do want to hatch your own Tyrant egg, don’t you?”

“…It’s not an egg, Coco.”

“What are you talking about? We just had the best psychic in the whole world analyze it for us.”

“I don’t trust psychics.”

“Technically, she’s a witch.”

“She’s a phony, is what she is,” you said, voice turning cold.

“Y/N,” said Coco, a little more nicely.

“We have an opportunity to stop the war and be revered as heroes. Who cares what the Guild thinks? Who cares if we’re branded as Renegades?”

“…That’s not what I’m concerned about, Coco.”

_If anything, I was on the Guild’s “kill” list before I was born._

“Okay, then what?” he said, holding the egg closely.

“I’m tired of this. We’re just being pushed around like it’s some sort of plan.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“There are other ways to end the war, Coco.”

“Oh yeah?! And how are you gonna do that?” Coco snapped.

“You are the worst tamer I’ve ever seen, Y/N. You don’t train your Nexomon, catch any new ones, use items, or even order any attacks! You think you can stop the war with just Lume? This egg is your only option!” 

He hesitated, and his expression changed as your face crossed into a frown. But still he went on.

“It’s harsh, but true. I never wondered why you got your ass kicked by that Folicure. You’ve been fighting with sheer luck this whole time!”

“FINE THEN!” you said. “But you’re going on a wild goose chase. Eliza’s wrong and you can have this dumb “””egg.””””

“You’ll see, Y/N,” Coco said, slinging the egg over his shoulder. “I’ll hatch the Tyrant of Light from this thing, and I’ll be powerful enough to take on all the Renegades and Tyrants themselves.”

“I’m just fine on my own, you know,” you said as he walked off. “I’m perfectly independent! You’ll see ME at the top!”

“You’ll see!”

You watched Coco become an orange tictac on the horizon. Your heart clenched a bit.

You were alone now, for the first time in your life.

It was fine. You were a freaking _Tyrant_ , after all! Did you ever really need him?

Of course not.

You turned back into the city, feeling like one of your limbs was gone. The ghosts stared, but you ignored them.

You tried not to think about it so hard. You were free now, finally. Free to do whatever you wanted.

There it was: the glowing blue stone at the center of the city.

It was time, now, for you to do your own thing.

You placed your hand on the warpstone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where things start to diverge from canon a little bit, plot-wise. >:) [I just dont want to watch anymore walkthroughs pls don’t make me watch anymor walktrhoughs]


	5. Parum's Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you evolve Lume, try a potion, and file some interesting paperwork.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's a tamer to do without their snarky cat friend?

The streets of Parum were deserted, as usual. The beige streets simmered with late summer heat, and the anti-Tyrant banners waved idly in the breeze. 

The warpstone brought you to the central plaza. The warmth of the sun melted away the deadly chill of the Immortal Citadel. It was a breath of relief, knowing you were far away from it, now. 

The guards, a few of the only people around, were visibly drained after protecting the capital through the nightly curfew. Even with eyebags under their shades, their posture was serious and composed.

One of them nodded at you with respect, as they did all young tamers. 

_What would they do if they knew I were a monster?_

Nevermind that. 

You grabbed your bag — lighter without the Tyrant egg — and dug around for stray coins. 

_Perfect._

You needed to distance yourself from — well, everything. The general store next door looked as inviting as it gets.

The inside of the store had the smell of an air conditioner that hasn’t been cleaned in a while. Ceiling fans slowly spun around the stocked shelves, casting faint shadows on the floor. 

“Aha! Y/N! My friend!” Cooper called you over. Was he _really_ your friend, though? 

“Thanks for saving my life in the Citadel. We’re back in business now!”

“Don’t give me credit for that,” you shrugged. “It was all the work of my friend—“

You stopped midsentence. The thought of Coco made you feel guilty all over again. 

“You’re not a high-ranking tamer, are you, kid?”

You shook your head. Hey, bronze was still pretty good, right?

“That’s too bad. We reserve the best stuff for them. Apocalypse, y’know? But bronze tamers like you can still get the essentials. Anyway, what can I getcha?” 

He brought out an array of potions, ethers, and elixirs. He started to bring out the Nexotraps, but quickly reversed once he saw the queasy look on your face. 

“Pygmachophobia, is it, friend? No worries. I see it all the time! Won’t bring these out again, promise!” 

He gave a reassuring kick towards the tray of Nexotraps on the floor. An awkward half-smile crossed your face. 

“Um… Could I grab that potion?” 

The potion looked suspiciously like a Baja Blast. Cooper took a few glistening coins as you levitated the potion across the counter into your hand. 

You never realized how _delicious_ these looked. The top twisted off and the inside smelled… heavenly… like citrus. Or fresh chocolate. 

“This smells _really good_ ,” you said, without thinking. 

Cooper raised his eyebrows in surprise. “It does?”

_Oh. I’m not supposed to like these._

“I guess,” you murmured. 

Cooper forced a polite grin. “Huh. You’re a bit of a weird one, you know that, kid? I mean, I have one of the best noses in town and frankly… these things smell like nothing!” 

“Hmm,” you said, now staring at the vial in your hand. 

“No judgement, though!” He started swabbing down the countertop. “Just, uh, don’t try to drink it, please. I have enough lawsuits on my hands.” He rolled his eyes. 

“Of course not!” you lied, grabbing a few more potions from the shelves. 

“Will that be all for you today?” 

You nodded and scraped together your remaining pocket money. 

“Come again, Y/N!” 

You made a break for the exit. It was wonderful to see the sun again, but first you had to check around. 

You released Lume onto one of the café tables and fed it a bit of the potion. It mewed in delight.

“You like the potions, don’t you, boy?” 

Lume meowed again. 

Hoping you didn’t look _too_ suspicious, you turned your back against a table and took a small sip of the potion. 

_Wow! I didn’t die instantly!_

Actually, it was pretty good. _Very_ good _._ It was smooth, like water, but tasted like a mix of cranberry juice and ginger.

As you drank more, you instantly felt more revitalized and energetic. Going to take another sip, you froze. 

A guard was making steady eye contact with you. 

His eyes were practically burning a hole through your cape. He raised an eyebrow at you, squinting like you were drinking rat poison. Which you were, basically. 

A horrible thought crossed your mind. Was it TOO suspicious? Potions were only for Nexomon… 

Out of precaution, you rustled around in your bag, took out your black thermos, and dumped the water into the bushes. Then, much to Lume’s dismay, you drained the rest of the potion into the thermos. 

“Better,” you said, sealing it. 

You walked off, hoping that the guard would leave you alone. Maybe he’d just write you off as another weirdo. 

Squeezing the thermos with both hands, you tried to act as casual as possible. You focused on your surroundings. The city of Parum was truly an impressive stronghold for mankind. 

_Too bad I don’t belong here._

The houses seemed to go on forever; it was easy to get lost. You looked into alley after alley. A few wisps of smoke trailed from chimneys. The sunbeams lit up little pieces of dust in the wind. Guards were patrolling left and right, communicating through their earpieces every suspicious little thing. 

“Hey,” blurted a scarred man wearing a cowboy hat. He was looking straight at you. 

“…Something the matter, sir?” 

“You’re not from Parum, are you?” 

You shook your head. 

“Hmph. It’s hard to believe there are habitable places out there. It’s a truly barren world, from what I’ve heard,” he mused to himself, and his eyes shifted towards the ground, lost in thought. 

You couldn’t find the right words and walked on. You’d like to believe there was more out there… but considering the only other city you’ve been to was full of dead people, he might be right. 

And there was that statue of Ulzar slaying Omnicron. As usual, people were solemnly gathered around it, quiet. 

_What is the name of that district Nora always obsessed over? The Research District?_

A guard stood idly near the phonebooth. You couldn’t really see what his purpose was, seeing as he was blocking it. 

“Hey there!” you said a bit too loudly, trying to cover the thermos in your hands. “Do you know anything about the uh… Research District?” 

He rubbed his chin. “Oh. You mean the nerd plaza?” He barely registered your bewildered look. “Just take this path straight ahead.”

You gave him a quick thumbs up and trailed down the path. As you got closer, the silent air of the city disintegrated to the sounds of people _talking_. 

A silver Hyphoon fountain poured water from its mouth. Scientists stood in the center and chattered about their projects and research. You overheard a few conversations as you passed through. 

“People never appreciate my work…” 

“If we can’t find a way to destroy the Tyrants, Parum might not last much longer…” 

“I’ve become a top scientist just by putting the word ‘quantum’ in all my papers! Nobody really knows what it means so they can’t call me out!” 

“Hey, have you heard the news?” A teenage boy carrying a stack of papers greeted you. “Apparently there’s going to be some new superweapon announced in the next couple weeks! What could it be?” 

Superweapon, huh? Anything that helped the Guild was probably bad for YOU… 

_I’m going to ignore that,_ you thought with relative cheer. 

Ahead was an industrial-looking lab. An office printer suddenly burst through the window, scattering broken glass. Screams of terror came from the inside. 

_What in Ulzar’s name…_

Out of pure curiosity, you stepped inside. 

“HEY, KID! DON’T BREAK ANYTHING, OK?” 

The sheer chaos of the lab was overwhelming. Scientists ran back and forth holding massive stacks of papers, with a few pages trailing behind them. Detailed data was scattered all over the floor. A few were wiping away tears with their lab coats. 

“Ahaha, this is kind of a bad time,” the scientist at the counter said. “We, uh—“ 

“NO WAY!! NOOOO!” 

“— The uh, synthesizer broke —” the scientist said through her teeth, “the core synthesizer is break. Broken.” 

“AAAAAH!” 

That scream came from a furious looking scientist with red glasses and wheat-colored hair. She threw her clipboard to the floor, snapping it in half. 

She strode across the room in a fury and gestured towards you. “You can leave, tamer, this DUMB machine isn’t producing cores right n—“

She stopped and squinted at you. “Oh! YOU! You’re that tamer who had a run in with Nivalis. Y/N, right?” 

“I wouldn’t really describe it as a ‘run in’—“ 

“Great. I’m Bonnie. I own this lab.” She shook your hand frantically. “Edward told me all about you. You have a fire Nexomon, right?” 

“Uh… yes…” 

_“_ Fantastic. We’re going to need it,” she said, picking up the broken pieces of her clipboard. She immediately began scribbling on a jagged chunk. 

“Oh, poor thing,” chimed in the assistant. “You barely have any idea what’s going on, do you? You’re a deer in headlights.” 

Bonnie clapped her hands. “So, what we need you to do is have your Nexomon burn the interior of the magnetic amplifier in order to fuse together the centrifugal modules.” 

“I’m sorry?” 

“You need to have your mon breathe fire on the centerpiece and HOPEFULLY it won’t explode!” 

“It can explode??” 

_“PROBABLY!”_ yelled Bonnie, still scribbling on the half-clipboard. “You’ll be compensated, if it does!” 

_“_ Great to hear!” you yelled back. 

You followed Bonnie to the back of the room, where a massive, scorpion-shaped machine was sparking and buzzing. Turquoise-colored sparks flew from its core. At the center was a clump of shards, spiraling around each other like a swarm of angry bees. 

Bonnie’s words were like droplets against the torrential roar of the machine. 

Lume appeared out of its Nexotrap, eagerly looking around for a treat. When it saw none, it let out a pitiful mew. 

“PUT YOUR CAT OVER THERE,” she directed you around. You picked up Lume and plopped it in front of the machine. 

“A BIT TO THE LEFT.” 

You scooched Lume over. 

“MY LEFT!” 

A bit closer. 

Bonnie gave you the “OK” signal and began wildly mashing buttons like a band kid who just got their first keytar. 

“READY!” 

“CAN’T YOU JUST USE REGULAR FIRE??” 

“THIS IS A _NEXOMON_ RESEARCH LAB!” 

You had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but you commanded Lume anyway. 

“Lume, burn the machine!” 

Ribbons of bright orange flame hit the synthesizer, turning it white hot. The shards began sparking even more, zapping the walls and ceiling fan.

“IS THAT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN?!” 

“NO, NO!” Bonnie cried out in terror. “TAKE COVER!” 

The synthesizer began popping, bursts of fire swirling around the core. The spiral of flame in the interior began spinning out of the machine, lashing out against the walls and floor. A final pop sounded as the machine gave out a puff of smoke. 

Bonnie emerged from under the desk. “You okay??” 

“… I think so?” 

Without anywhere to duck, you’d grabbed Lume and formed a psychic barrier between you and the machine. The flames could only lap against the invisible wall. 

_That was new._

“Oh, wow!” said Bonnie, inspecting the sizzling machine. “It’s completely fried.” 

“Sorry about that,” you grimaced. 

She patted the synthesizer like it was a prized metal cow. “Oh, it’s not a problem at all. Now I can finally rebuild it!” 

The other scientists in the room were shaking, singed labcoats and all. It seemed like it was a problem for _them_. 

“Didn’t I say something about compensation?” Bonnie tucked the pencil back behind her ear. “So, uh, unfortunately core synthesis isn’t available right now. Obviously. But, we do have a few other services. As thanks, for helping destroy the machine.” 

“Thanks? I mean, thanks.” _Did she say “destroy” the machine??_

The assistant, glasses shattered by the explosion, nonchalantly handed you the clipboard. You read the title: _Experimental Services._

“We’ll be offering a few enhancements for your Nexomon.”

_Enhancements?_ “Are they…safe?” 

The assistant waved. “Oh, you know.” 

“They’re experimental steroids, of course they’re safe,” Bonnie chimed in, brushing the ashes from her hair. 

“Alright, then.” 

The assistant took Lume, who was giving you a bewildered look, and nestled it in her arms. Lume mewed pitifully as she injected it with the unlabelled syringe. 

Then it began to glow. 

“How fascinating!” said the assistant, scribbling like her life depended on it. “Look at that! It evolved into a Lumefur!” 

“Lucifer?”

Lumefur stood in its new form, bigger and better than before. And it also looked more… buff? 

“Now, you need to report back anything different you notice about it. Anything. And once again, thanks for helping with our research!” 

“I thought this was a reward?” 

“Oh, of course it is, sweetie,” said the assistant. “Hurry along, now.” 

You put Lumefur (Lucifer?) back in its Nexotrap and returned to the center of Parum, heading to the Guild HQ. Maybe someone there could tell you what on EARTH those scientists injected Lucifer with. 

The stairs leading to Guild Headquarters were just as steep, but you no longer had the same swelling sense of pride as when you first ascended them. The washed-out cement was a little closer: you could see all the chips and cracks in it now, neglected for years. 

“Oh. You didn’t die,” said the Admin, giving you a tiny smile from behind the counter. “I’m assuming the situation with the orphanage was cleared up.” 

You blinked dully at her. The orphanage attack was so far away in your mind now you could barely recall it. 

“Erm…yes.” 

“That wasn’t a question, sweetheart,” said the admin, typing away on her tablet. “Do you have time for a little job?” 

_All the time in the world at this point._

You nodded half-heartedly.

“Right. Normal bronze tamer duties include— hmm.” Someone had burst in, catching her off guard. 

“Hey, Y/N!” 

Nora came trudging into the room, dragging behind a cluster of full garbage bags. The metallic sound drew the other tamers’ attention, giving her a few raised eyebrows and snickers. 

She gleamed at the admin. 

“I’ve done my job. There is no trash left in Parum.” 

“None?” The admin looked concerned. “At all?” 

Nora shook her head. 

“ _Interesting,_ ” said the admin, typing Ulzar-knows-what into her tablet. “And you’re in need of another job?” 

Nora set down the trash bags. “Yes.” 

“Perfect, then,” the admin said in minimal-effort-faux cheer. “I’ll assign this one to both of you, then.” 

Nora gleamed at the admin as she entered your names. 

“There’s this crusty basement, here in Parum. The Guild Archives. I want you to alphabetize each and every file.” 

“Every one?” you said in disbelief.

“No problem,” Nora said.

“Uhh…” Maybe Nora could do all the heavy lifting? She’s never one to shirk work. “We’ll take it,” you sighed. 

“Oh thank Ulzar, I thought no one else would ever volunteer,” said the Admin, handing you a pair of keys. “I mean, uhh, go have fun alphabetizing, kids.” 

The door to the archives was down a long and musty hall, further away from the barracks. Nora was mostly quiet as the hall got darker. 

“Paperwork. This should be fun, right?” you snickered. 

“What? This is normal bronze tamer work. Were you doing something more interesting?” 

You immediately had flashbacks to watching a man named Mega Darkness splatter against a window. “No.” 

“Then you have nothing to complain about,” Nora said matter-of-factly. 

The room had a musty smell, just barely lit by an amber chandelier. A few glass droplets had fallen from it and were collected on the floor. It had a crusty yellow wallpaper that had at least a hundred file cabinets pressed against it, untouched for decades. 

“You would’ve thought this stuff would be digitized by now,” you said. 

Suddenly a _THUMP_ came from the closet. Nora and you flinched in unison. 

“H-Hello?” Nora called out. 

The closet rustled. Nora glanced over to you, wide-eyed. 

You made a fist and placed it in your palm. She did the same, and you started throwing out rocks, papers, and scissors. 

Rock vs. paper, you lose. 

Scissors vs rock. Another loss. 

“Ouch,” you said. “Best out of five??” 

“You’re a loser. Get over it,” she whispered sharply, rolling her eyes.

You cautiously tiptoed to the door, which swung open to reveal an orange-haired gremlin digging through piles of paper. 

“Ross?!” 

Ross spun around, his face quickly contorting into anger. He was covered head to toe in dust. 

“What are YOU GUYS doing here?!” 

“We’re here on a job!” Nora shouted. “What are YOU doing here?” 

“Isn’t it obvious?!” Ross yelled, throwing papers into the air. “I’m trying to get promoted as fast as possible! I’m going to be the world’s youngest grandmaster!!” 

You stared at him. “What’s that have to do with anything?” 

“I don’t expect you to know,” said Ross, suddenly crossing his arms. “If I can do all of this ‘volunteer’ work, I’ll become a gold tamer. And skip over all the other ranks, too, probably!” 

Nora raised an eyebrow. You knew what she was thinking. There were no requirements to become a gold tamer. The admin was wasting his time. And now he was deep in the Guild archives, mothballs in his hair. 

She covered her smile. “Oh, wow.” 

“DON’T TELL ANYONE! I’m trying to be the first. Especially you, Y/N. I don’t trust you with secrets.” 

You bit your tongue. “You’d be surprised.” 

“I don’t suppose we could lend you a hand? We’re on the same job, right?” Nora asked. 

“Ummmm, yeah, sure, alright.” Ross was looking at you like one of your arms were gone. “Hey, Y/N, where’s Coco?” 

_Ross_ noticed? _Of all people?_

Now Nora was thinking, too. “Yeah, where _is_ Coco, actually? He rarely leaves your side.” 

You shrugged, trying to hide your racing thoughts from broadcasting through your face. “He’s on another job.” 

It wasn’t a lie, technically. 

So why did you still feel guilty saying it? 

Ross and Nora exchanged a look that you couldn’t quite decipher. Skepticism, maybe? 

“Well, alright, then,” Nora said. “As long as he’s okay.” 

_Why would he not be okay?_ you wanted to ask, but the thought faded away as Nora and Ross started stacking the musty old papers. 

From there, you split up your work: Nora would organize files A-G, you do H-Z, and Ross would tear through all the papers in the closet, handing them off to either one of you. 

You opened the drawers with telekinesis and rushed to put the papers inside, quickly glancing over each title: _Hazmat Suit Effectiveness in Ignitia, Hilda’s Curse Origin Theories and Possible Cures,_ and _How to Properly Evacuate a City._

“Should we really be looking at this stuff?” Nora said with a hint of concern. 

She held out a diagram labelled _A Nexotrap through the Ages._

“‘The Nexotrap of the post-Omnicron era originally consisted of a flatter, more ergonomic shape, but later designs favored the pyramid shape for its low cost,’” Nora read. 

Ross took a deep breath. “Illuminati confirm—“ he was quickly cut off by Nora punching him in the side. 

“Who cares about us digging through the Guild’s crap?” Ross shrugged, dust falling from his shoulders. “If they didn’t want us looking at this stuff, they shouldn’t have sent us in here. Most of it is boring as hell, anyway.” 

“I bet we’ll find some juicy government secrets in here,” you smiled, shoveling accounting records old enough to drink into the drawer. 

“Tch. Come on. No one’s touched this stuff for decades.” 

“How ’bout _this_?” said Nora. She held up not a file, but a full-sized book, pages yellowed beyond age. 

“Creepy,” said Ross. 

“Okay, that has to be _really old_ ,” you said, for lack of better words. “Check it for ancient curses.” 

The book’s pages crackled from being stuck together. If it had a title, it was worn away long ago, leaving only the soft blue leather of the spine. 

“Look at this. There’s some kind of cloth in here,” she said, folding them out. “They’re like…tapestries.” 

The cloth bound into the book folded out into seven distinct pages, with the eighth holding a woven title. 

_Children of Omnicron._

You didn’t know why, but the title alone sent shivers up your spine. 

“Oh, hey, I know those guys,” said Ross. “They were the first Tyrants, right?” 

Nora rolled her eyes. “Basic history, Ross.” She leafed through the pages a bit. 

“…But I’ve never seen something like this.” 

“What?” 

Nora, not knowing something? That was odd. 

She read from the first page: 

“‘The Children of Omnicron were little-known to be shapeshifters, moving between human form. It is theorized that they infiltrated human society to destroy it from the inside.” 

“Really?” said Ross, easily fascinated by the mention of destruction. 

But the passage was setting off alarm bells in your head. 

“‘This ability has not been seen since, confounding researchers and sparking theories about the origin of Nexomon,’” Nora read on. “Look, there’s pictures.” 

The tapestry folded out to reveal a blue-haired girl next to a sea monster ten times her size. It was labelled ARQUA. 

You mind was just barely driving in. Is this how you were a Tyrant? You were a child of Omnicron? But you’d know if you were one of his seven children, right? Each of them would be thousands of years old. Was your memory wiped? Were you the secret 8th child of Omnicron?? 

“L-Look at this,” said Nora, flipping through the pages. 

She turned the cloth over to a page with a green, deer-like monster on it, along with its human form. It read NARA.

You gaped at the page. That wasn’t _possible_. 

“…Um, does this remind you of anyone?” 

Nora placed her finger over the human form. Even smudged and falling apart, the tapestry was strikingly similar to someone you knew. 

“What are you talking about?” said Ross. 

“Does this not look A LOT like Grandmaster Deena? Almost identical, actually?”

“I don’t see it,” you lied. 

“Look at it! That’s her! That’s _Deena_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh ohhhh (we all expected this to happen, didn't we)


	6. Robbed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you get mugged and have a headache.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMAO so I uhhh have had this chapter completely written since December. But I got hung up on a single sentence and then completely forgot about it. Anyway, I guess it’s time for this thing to finally meet other human eyes LOL

Ross’ face scrunched up. “Are you kidding?” 

_ Thank Ulzar for Ross’ stupidity,  _ you prayed. 

“It would make sense, wouldn’t it!?” Nora started counting her fingers like a madwoman. You could almost see her thought process shine through her face. “The dragon attack DID happen while Grandmaster Deena was around. And if she truly is a daughter of Omnicron, then she WOULD be able to hide in human form.” 

“Yeah, right,” was all you could say. 

“And, look at this!” Nora dug around in her pocket for her Tamer’s Watch. She pulled up the database. 

“It says here that Nara is ‘presumably immortal,’ but nowhere to be found. So she must have been hiding this whole time as Deena!” 

“You know most of the database is just Guild propaganda, right?” You attempted a casual shrug, but your shoulders were shaking under your cape. “That’s just…” 

“You’re ridiculous, Nora!” Ross blurted out. “You think a Grandmaster, of all people, is a Tyrant?! Have some common sense for once!” 

Nora looked deep in thought, raising an eyebrow at you. 

“What’s with you and Deena, Y/N? First you act weird around her, and now you’re defending her?” 

The amber light of the room was dizzying. You knew if you continued to deflect Nora’s theory, it would only cast even more suspicion over you.

“I - is there enough oxygen in here? Hahaha, nevermind. Let’s go… investigate Deena, then.” 

“Investigate her?! Are you  _ sure _ about this?” Ross groaned. “I don’t want to waste any time!” 

Nora and you stared in silence. 

“Fine. You’d better be onto something.” 

Upstairs, the admin was focused on her tablet, which was chirping and beeping. 

“You’re already done, kids?” She raised an eyebrow at Ross. “You organized that whole room?” 

“Are you playing  _ Candy Crush _ ?” Nora asked. 

The admin looked flustered. “N-No,” she said, setting the tablet on the desk. 

“We were wondering if you could help us with something,” Nora said. 

“Tell us where Grandmaster Deena is!” Ross suddenly yelled. 

“…If you may,” Nora added politely, squinting at Ross. 

The admin shrugged. “Jeez, I dunno where the other Grandmasters are. They all sorta do their own thing.” 

“It would be really nice if you knew her general location,” said Nora. 

“WHERE IS SHE?” shouted Ross. 

The admin leaned back into her chair, fascinated. At first she looked like she was actually considering saying something, but then remembered she was talking to a bunch of bronze newbies and snapped out of her satisfaction. 

“I don’t know.” 

You shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to quit here. Oh well. Back to cleaning the archives, eh, guys?” 

Nora looked like she wanted to throw you in a river. 

“Please?” she said to the admin. Nora tried to give her an innocent, puppy-dog-eyes look, which was hilarious to see because she was failing badly. 

“Well…” the admin said, trailing off. She snickered to herself. You could tell she liked the idea of betraying the Guild. “We do sorta put trackers on the other Grandmasters. Haha. We’re not a surveillance state or anything.” 

Stunned silence. 

“Riiiight,” said Nora. “So, you know where she is?” 

The admin poked around her tablet. “She was last pinged in the Frozen Tundra. Don’t tell me you kids are planning on going there.” 

“I can handle anything!” Ross said. 

“No, I mean it,” said the admin, eyes downcast. “You’ll die.” 

Nora thanked her and you headed down the long steps. 

A bit of breeze was beginning to pick up. The sky was a moody pink. The wind tousled your hair as you stubbornly tried to fix it. 

“So of course we’re going to the Frozen Tundra, right?” you asked.

“I’m not going to pass this up. This has the potential to be huge,” said Nora.

_ “ _ Isn’t the Frozen Tundra, like… the most dangerous place in the world? And what do you plan on doing if Deena  _ does _ turn out to be Nara?”

“That’s why we’re bringing you, Y/N,” smiled Nora. “You’re our bodyguard. You can psychically predict danger for us to avoid.” 

You couldn’t tell if she was messing with you. “I’m not that type of psychic.“ 

“We have Nexomon,” said Ross. “You’re all lucky you’re bringing me along. I’m probably the best tamer you know!” 

“Yeah, and what are underleveled Nexomon going to do against a Primordial Tyrant?” 

“The Frozen Tundra is one of the most guarded places in the world,” said Nora. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.” 

You didn’t have future-telling powers, but had the odd feeling you would not make it out of this alive. 

The ice bridge east of Parum was chipped and slightly melted. You marveled at the dazzling crystal arcs, but couldn’t help but feel a sense of grief as you spotted the crumbling tower. You didn’t know where you’d seen that tower before, exactly, but it was in disrepair. Even at a distance, you knew it was hollowed out, falling. 

Most destruction these days was done by Tyrants. There wasn’t one person you knew who hadn’t witnessed one of their famous clashes with dragons, or lost something — or someone — to the madness. 

But then another thought crossed your mind. 

_ The Tyrants want to end the war too, right?  _

A sliding noise and a loud THUMP. Behind you, Ross was lying flat on his stomach. 

“Owwwww,” he groaned as you and Nora helped him up. He brushed himself off, indignant, his clothes now dirty and wet with ice. 

“WHOSE idea was it to make a bridge out of ice, anyway?!” 

“It’s metal,” said Nora, pointing to the steel end. 

“Who cares?! SOMEONE should at least try and clean it up. Fire Nexomon are everywhere, you know!” 

“Maybe YOU should try and watch your step,” you laughed.

Ross groaned and readjusted his scarf. You gave him a hard pat on the back and kept walking. 

In the clearing, light snow was fluttering down. It moved with the wind, dusting the ground. 

“What the—“ Ross said. “It’s the middle of summer!” 

“Shhh,” said Nora. “Don’t question it.” 

“It’s called the Frozen Tundra for a reason,” you said. “And it doesn’t look TOO dangerous.” 

“Hey, kids,” growled a hooded figure, slumped up against a crumbled brick wall. The top of his hood was dusted with snow. “Today’s a good day to give me everything you own.” 

“I stand corrected.”  _ And that’s the dumbest possible way to rob someone.  _

“You can’t possibly be mugging us in broad daylight,” Nora said. 

The bandit suddenly lunged at you, pointing something sharp towards your chest. 

It took a moment for you to register what it was. It was a switchblade — an actual  _ knife _ . 

Ross and Nora gasped and stepped away.

“T-This isn’t how it’s supposed to work. We’re supposed to —“ Your lungs felt tight. “— supposed to have a Nexomon battle.” 

“Too bad. Now all of you better get everything you’ve got — potions, Nexotraps, valuables — and hand it over. Or things will get ugly.” 

Your pulse was pounding. You tried to focus, to telekinetically pull the knife away, but couldn’t. 

The sound of Nexotraps opening turned your attention to Ross and Nora. A Namansi, a grey wolf-like creature, and a Snaiflow, a blue snail, stood beside them. 

The bandit snickered. “Oh, you’re Guild tamers? That’s cute.” 

Two more bandits descended from above, crunching the snow as they landed on their feet. In one quick motion, they restrained Nora and Ross. Namansi and Snaiflow rushed to defend their tamers, but were knocked back by the bandits’ Nexomon. 

“I’m going to ask again, and this time I won’t be as nice,” said the bandit, turning the knife. “Give me everything you’ve got and no one gets hurt.” 

“TAKE IT!” burst Ross. “TAKE EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING I OWN!” 

He began to sob. 

“PLEASE HAVE MERCY!” 

Nora shook her head in disappointment. “Ross, you wuss!” 

“PLEASE,” Ross continued sobbing. “PLEASE DON’T HURT US!” 

The bandit’s face twisted with embarrassment. “Can someone shut this kid up?” 

The other bandit whacked Ross in the face. He fell to the ground, unconscious. 

“Screw this,” the knife-wielding bandit said. “We’ll just take it from them. Then they’ll learn their lesson about leaving pretty old Parum.” 

Nora writhed against the bandit’s restraint, but couldn’t break free. You stood there, motionless, staring at the knife. You knew what you had to do, but every inch of power in your mind was frozen.

_ C’mon,  _ you thought to yourself.  _ Do something!  _

Nora suddenly fell, crumbling facedown into the snow. The other bandit grinned. 

She’d shoved her.

You turned to your assailant, locking eyes. He was silent, but you knew what he was thinking. 

The cruel glint in his eye — the same one reflecting from his knife — told you this was over. You could either give him everything you owned, or have it taken from you. 

Or…

The knife in his hand began to twitch, shaking and pulling away from his violent grip. But, for some reason, it didn’t break free. 

He stepped back, momentarily startled, but clutched the handle, stilling the knife. 

“You have five seconds to hand everything over.” 

A ringing noise began cheering in your head, clear as a bell. You shut your eyes as a terrible headache set in. 

_ What the hell is happening to me?  _

You grabbed your temple — then the bandit did, too. 

“What’s that noise?!” he yelled, the ringing growing even louder. 

“What noise?” said one of the other bandits, until she suddenly doubled over, holding her head. 

The headache grew as your vision blurred. You began to see static. 

Then the ringing ended with a resounding BOOM. 

A shockwave sent the bandits flying backwards into the snow. Dazed, you gently drifted downwards, lying on your side. Your face brushed the hard, cold ground. 

Even with your weakened vision, you could see the bandits were wounded, somehow. They stumbled back and forth, dizzy. 

“What—What  _ in Ulzar’s name _ was that?” 

“Look,” you heard one bandit tremble, “the blue kid’s down.” 

“Forget that!” the knife bandit said. “I think my head’s gonna explode.” 

_ Did  _ you _ do that?  _

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” 

You shut your eyes and listened to the bandits crunch through the snow, retreating. Weakly, you felt for the Nexotrap in your pocket. 

“Lumefur…” you whispered. Your finger hovered over the release button, but every ounce of strength was gone. 

The snowfall grew stronger, piling up on your cape like a cold compress. You head felt light, almost empty now. 

Time began fading in and out. The world flickered between the white sky and the darkness of your shut eyes. 

After a long time — minutes? Hours? — you were startled awake by the sound of footsteps in the snow. 

You could just barely make out a blond figure stepping through the blizzard. A blurry pair of green overalls. 

“Videll,“ you tried to shout, hoarse. “Videll!”

“Y/N? Is that you?” She rushed over after realizing you were hurt. 

“In Ulzar’s name!” She grasped your hand, pulling you up by the handle of her pickaxe. You stumbled a bit, but felt much better as you regained your footing.

“What were you rookies thinking? You just got your bronze badges and decided to run over to _ the Frozen Tundra _ ?” 

You didn’t have the strength to say anything more. “Help Nora and Ross.” 

Videll went to Ross as you went to Nora. She was on her side, awake but faintly breathing. You offered your hand and brought her to her feet.

Nora coughed. “Thanks,” she said hoarsely. 

“How’s Ross?” 

“Out cold, but he’ll be fine.” Videll shook her head. “Ha. He really wasn’t hit that hard. Is he made of glass?” 

“I’ll help—“ your words caught as Videll picked up Ross and slung him over her shoulders. “Nevermind.” 

“Blizzard’s getting nasty,” squinted Videll. “Let’s get to town. Chop chop.” 

The four of you, Ross over Videll’s shoulders, made your way through the blizzard. 

The town was even more desperate than you’d expected. Several houses appeared burnt to a crisp, and the general store’s neon sign was half fallen-off. You didn’t have much time to look around, though, as Videll directed you into the Guild outpost. 

The outpost held the same proud columns and banners as the Capital city, but the mood was much different. Tamers had dark circles bled under their eyes. Some leaned against the wall, gathering what temporary warmth and relief they could from a hot drink. 

Videll quietly explained your situation to the medic, who brought you warm compresses and blankets. Ross was gently propped down onto a scuffed blue couch. 

As you settled into your seat, you asked Videll what she was doing in the Frozen Tundra, anyway. 

“First, you losers ditched me in the frozen cave.”

Did you? You could’ve sworn you walked her back. Oops. 

“Sorry.” 

“Yeah, whatever. I know my way around. Since the cave froze over, the waterways are easy to break through. So I go digging through these tunnels, and look up — metal ceiling, twelve o’clock. I figure it’s a bank vault. So I bust through it.” 

You nodded in understanding. 

“It was some dumb laboratory that hadn’t been touched in  _ forever _ . Apparently the Guild wants to use it as a bunker in case the Tundra falls. Which, I mean, look around.” 

Ross suddenly gave a violent sniff. 

He was sitting up, eyes open, fully animated. 

“Is that hot chocolate??” 

“What the—“ growled Videll. “Were you even unconscious?” 

“I swear I was! It’s just that — the smell of delicious hot chocolate brought me back to life. Now give me.” 

“That’s…not how being unconscious works.” 

“I—“ Ross barely met her gaze. “My legs hurt, okay?” 

Videll adjusted her goggles, as if about to shatter a rock. “You’re lucky I didn’t  _ throw _ you, Cheeto.” 

Nora’s face was still numb, but you could’ve sworn a faint smile broke through. Yes. Violence against Ross is good. 

“How long was I out?” you said. “Deena must be long gone.” 

“Deena? You mean Grandmaster Deena? I just saw her head into the bunker a few minutes ago!” 

“WHAT?” 

Nora sprung from her seat, digging through her bookbag. She held her head, but fought through the pain. ”We have to go. Now.” 

“What do you idiots think you’re doing?!” said Videll. “You need to recover, not jump back into danger.” 

“C’mon, Nora,” said Ross. “We were just  _ mugged _ . Our Nexomon. Our coins. The bandits took  _ everything _ . Could you finally give your bizarre theory  _ a rest _ !” 

You did not want to admit it, but Ross was right, for once. Going into the tundra again wasn’t worth the trouble. And you were pretty sure your ears were still bleeding from that mysterious shockwave. Ugh. 

“This is our only chance,” was all Nora said. 

The idea of trying to expose Deena for such an idea was laughable. For most people. 

For you, Nora’s theory was well within the realm of possibility. You had a feeling it was true, actually. But you knew things that Nora and Ross didn’t. Deena could stop time. She knew you, somehow. And Tyrants can shapeshift into humans — you were living proof of that. 

Apart from exposing your own identity, you felt an odd obligation to defend Deena. If she truly was Nara, she was in the same position as you: working for the Guild as a human. Both helping a group that wants you dead. And shouldn’t you protect each other, because of that? 

“Whatever, let’s just go,” said Ross. “You’ll be wrong and we can FINALLY clear this up.” 

Wait. Shit.

“Good,” said Nora, ignoring Videll’s reasonable protests. “You coming, Y/N?” 

Begrudgingly, you grabbed your bag and stepped back into the blizzard. The blizzard that almost killed you. 

“We can still make it,” said Nora through the wind. 

“Hopefully,” you said, for different reasons. Evening was creeping in over the Frozen Tundra, and you  _ really _ didn’t want to find out what ravaged this place  _ at night _ . 

“Take a look,” Nora pointed. “Fresh tracks.”

Footprints, the square shape of snowboots, lined the trail. Heavy boots. Not Deena’s. They led into a half-buried metal building. 

And didn’t come out. 

“I-Is the door open?” said Nora. 

Sure enough, the unbreakable steel door was open just a crack. A thin yellow beam shone across the ground. 

“Maybe Videll just forgot to close it,” Ross said. 

Nora stood there for a moment, gritting her teeth. “Okay, guys. There could be anyone in there.” 

“We’re going in quiet?” 

Ross and Nora nodded cautiously. Since you were rarely allowed outside growing up, the three of you had to resort to causing mayhem at the orphanage, giving you years of sneaking around under your belts. 

You ducked your heads and crept into the building. It was obviously hundreds of years old, by the creak of the floor, but surprisingly sturdy. Military-grade. Definitely some sort of laboratory in the past. 

Nora held a finger to her lips and motioned ahead. The sound of an argument was echoing down the hall. 

“Did you  _ follow _ me here?” Deena’s voice. 

“I do what I must to protect the Guild.” A male voice you didn’t recognize. 

Your group slowly crept along the metal walls until you could see between the pipelines. Deena was standing by a tall, bulky man, dressed in all black with a short cape. He had ragged red hair and singed-off eyebrows, along with battle scars lining his face and hands. You could tell he was some sort of war hero.

“Grandmaster Xanders,” Nora whispered to you. 

Oh.  _ So this is one of the four grandmasters of the Guild? _ You’ve heard of him, but was never able to put a face to the name. 

“That’s enough, Xanders,” said Deena. “My business here is none of your concern.” 

“Of course not,” said Xanders. “Why should I be involved in such traitorous conspiracy?” 

_ Conspiracy?  _ The word stuck to your head. 

“I said it’s none of your concern.” 

“Or is it?” Xanders stepped closer. “Yes, I have been following you, Deena. For good reason. You — you’re not human!” 

Nora gave you a wild look. You waved downwards - a direction to stay hidden.

Deena scoffed. “What’s wrong with you? That’s crazy talk.” 

“Don’t play dumb with me, monster,” Xanders snarled. “You are a  _ Tyrant _ . I’ve killed hundreds of your kind. You will destroy the Guild from the inside out!” 

“No—-“ 

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Xanders yelled, reaching into his pocket. “Your path of sabotage ends here. In the name of the Guild, I will slay you!” 

Deena’s eyes narrowed. 

“I’d like to see you try.” 

Deena began to grow, her body merging and blending together as if an illusion was falling. Rocks and dust fell from the ceiling. Xanders cried out. You shut your eyes, opening them when the brightness faded away. The Deena you recognized was gone. 

In her place stood Nara, fourth child of Omnicron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t get too excited. y/n’s power is just a psychic energy burst. Nothing special.


End file.
